


Face to Face

by JoMouse



Series: Face to Face [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Anal Sex, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Bottom Zayn, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Infidelity, M/M, Oral Sex, Recreational Drug Use, first time tagging something will add more if i think of them, really not as dark as it sounds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-30
Updated: 2015-09-04
Packaged: 2018-04-07 00:41:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 57,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4242942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoMouse/pseuds/JoMouse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Liam's fiance lost her ring.  Zayn found it in his girlfriend's rucksack.  What happens when the ring brings them face to face?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> I started this story on April 8, 2014. I sent it off to [vastlyunknown](http://archiveofourown.org/users/vastlyunknown/pseuds/vastlyunknown) around the end of April for her opinion of what was going to be a one-shot. It was after sending it and receiving back “Please continue it,” that I realized there was more to tell. That planned one-shot became twenty chapters and an epilogue (as of now) over a year later. So, I finally decided to start posting (even though Chapter Twenty and the Epilogue are not written yet).
> 
> The plan is to post twice a week, Tuesdays and Fridays. That might change, depending on my schedule (working full-time outside the home, mother of two, just to give you a clue as to what might get in the way). If you want to contact me between updates, you can find me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/JolynnMG) or [Tumblr](http://josjournal.tumblr.com).
> 
> There are three people that I have to give a ton of credit to for this story happening. First, the aforementioned vastlyunknown for her brilliant works that inspired me to consider joining the league of Ziam writers and for her encouragement in the beginning (all of which she has probably forgotten about by this time). Next, is the beautiful and amazing [hunnybunny](http://archiveofourown.org/users/hunnybunny/pseuds/hunnybunny) who encouraged me to bring the story out of hiding and gave me encouraging words and advice when I struggled. Last, but definitely not least, is the absofuckinglutely amazing Jess ([purpleeyestelllies](http://archiveofourown.org/users/purpleeyestelllies/pseuds/purpleeyestelllies)) who encouraged, prodded, and bribed me to keep writing. She also held my hand when I was freaking out over every word, sentence, paragraph, chapter. This story would truly not exist without these three wonderful human beings (everyone should go check out their works - they are all amazing writers, I can only hope to be viewed as half as talented as they are).
> 
> The fic is inspired by the Reba McEntire/Linda Davis song by the same name. Standard disclaimer: Don’t know ‘em, don’t own ‘em, don’t show ‘em.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GBPT)  
> 

Zayn sat at the table, fingers tapping the sides of his cup as he watched the door. The barista kept glancing over at him, shaking his head slightly and trying to fight back a smile. Zayn knew how it looked, he'd been sitting at the same table for almost an hour, finishing off first one, then two cups of coffee before grabbing this third one. Each time the door to the coffee shop opened, his head snapped up to see who was coming inside. He wasn't sure why he bothered, he didn't even know what this person looked like. He cursed Louis for talking him into doing this.

His phone buzzed in his pocket.

 

[](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GBP0)

([text image](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GBP0))

  

The door opened again and he looked up to see a blond standing in the doorway, glancing around the shop. Blue eyes met his and Zayn shook his head at Louis' premonition. He started to rise from the table when the blond turned to look behind him at another guy walking in, practically dragging his feet.

"You Zayn?" the blonde asked, striding to the table, his slightly shorter form almost threatening as he squared his shoulders, glaring.  The corners of his mouth twitched as if holding the expression was difficult for him.

"Yeah," Zayn muttered, holding out a hand. "You Liam?"

The blonde snorted, his face brightening with a wide smile. "Do I look like a Liam to you?" his Irish accent became heavier as he laughed. He reached behind him, pulling the larger guy, who was trying to disappear into the floor, towards the table. "This is Liam. I'm Niall." He finally shook Zayn's hand, squeezing firmly.

Zayn seemed to forget he was holding onto Niall's hand as he stared at the top of Liam's head. He seemed overly interested in his feet, so Zayn looked down as well, taking in the worn out leather work boots before looking at his own scuffed black leather combat boots. "Oh, for God's sake!" Niall huffed and Zayn found himself being shoved back into his chair and watched as Niall manhandled Liam into the one across from him. "You are both idiots," he said, shaking his head and turning away from the table.

The silence dragged on as Liam played with his watch at the edge of the table, still not looking up at him. "Hey," Zayn finally said, quietly. "Look, I really didn't think..."

Liam's head snapped up and Zayn's breath caught in his throat. Large brown eyes met his, a familiar tinge of betrayal around the edges. Zayn gaped for a minute before Liam's expression became questioning.

"Er...you don't have blue eyes," Zayn finally sputtered out, not sure what else to say because the words, _“You’re gorgeous,”_ were on the tip of his tongue.

"No," Liam finally spoke, not seeming to be completely confused by the out-of-the-blue statement. "I thought that you'd have long hair." He pointed at Zayn's slightly tousled quiff that was cut short in the back.

"Surprise for both of us, I guess." They looked away from each other, eyes traveling around the coffee shop, looking at everything, except each other.

 After a few moments, Niall came back to the table and dropped a coffee in front of Liam who muttered a thanks without looking up. Niall huffed and looked at Zayn. "Do you bite?"

"Pardon?"

"Do you bite? Are you going to suddenly lunge across the table and bite Liam's neck or summat? Do I have to worry for his safety?" Zayn's eyes widened in confusion, and a bit of fear, as he tried to figure out what the hell was going on. He tried not to think about biting Liam’s neck because suddenly the idea was extremely tempting. He shook his head, silently admonishing himself to behave.

"I'm not a vampire, last I checked." He glanced out the window. "Daylight and all."

"Maybe you're one of those sparkly sorts," Niall said before smacking Liam on the shoulder. "Nothing to worry about. I'm going home. Call if you want or need me later, right?" Liam looked up at him, his lower lip caught between his teeth, before nodding.

"I'd say 'nice meeting you,' mate, but...." Zayn nodded in understanding as the blond turned to walk away, wondering just how much the boy knew about the situation.

Zayn turned back to Liam, the silence heavy between them. They would look at each other and then away, taking sips of their coffee and looking over the brims of their mugs. "I didn't think you would meet me. Fuck, I didn't think you'd believe me," Zayn started out. "It all seems a bit crazy, eh?"

Liam nodded again, beginning to feel stupid. His voice was caught in his chest. He hadn't said much of anything since getting Zayn's texts the day before. He decided if he was going to be here, he might as well get it over with and go home. "Er...do you have it?"

"Yeah, sure." Zayn pulled his leather jacket off the back of his chair, digging into the inside pocket. He reached his closed fist over the table, waiting until Liam held his hand out, palm up. Opening his fingers slowly, Zayn watched the glint of light flash off the diamond ring as it dropped into Liam's palm.  His fingers quickly closed around it and then opened again to drop it on the table, watching it hit and wobble before coming to a stop next to his cup.

They both stared at the ring for a moment before Liam reached a finger out and ran it over the band, finally picking it up and sliding it onto his pinkie finger. It only reached the second knuckle before stopping. He twisted it around his finger as he took a deep breath, looking up at Zayn, his eyes shiny. "So..." he tried to figure out what to say. He had the ring back, he could get up and leave now, he didn't have to talk to this guy, but for some reason he couldn't stand up.

"It's nice. Vintage?" Zayn said, trying to find something to say, not sure if he should even stick around, but he had questions and this guy sitting across from him with his puppy dog eyes and chewed bottom lip was the only one who had answers.

Liam smiled slightly. "It's my grandmothers. She gave it to me when I told her I was going to..." he trailed off.

"No wonder you wanted it back so bad," Zayn supplied. "I'm sorry I took it. I really didn't mean..."

"You took it?" Liam was confused. "I thought you found it..."

Zayn rubbed a hand against the back of his neck, biting his lip. "Yeah, well, I did, sort of. She left her school bag and I was looking for a smoke and found that instead." He remembered holding the ring in his hand, knowing it was an engagement ring and not understanding. "I was going to put it back when I heard her come back in. I shoved it in my pocket and, sort of, forgot about it." He'd honestly been distracted by her draping herself over him, pulling him onto the bed. By the time she got up to leave, he'd completely forgotten the ring.

Liam's head was hurting. He took a deep gulp of the coffee, cursing when it burned his throat. He rubbed at his eyes, not surprised when his hand came away wet. "How long?"

"Just a few months," Zayn explained. "We met in the quad. You?"

"Two years," Liam explained. "Today."

"Fuck, mate. I'm sor..."

"Don't!" Liam snapped, slamming his hand on the table. "Don't apologize!" Zayn pushed back from the table a bit as the rest of the patrons in the cafe looked over. Liam waved a hand in the air and muttered an apology to the other people before turning back to Zayn. He didn’t understand why he was apologizing, it wasn’t his fault. He didn’t make her do it.  "When you texted me, I nearly broke my phone. I was so...." he let out a low growl to replace the words he couldn't find.

"Yeah, I have a few plates that became mosaic when I saw the leaflets," the darker haired lad responded, a wry smile on his face. He had pretty much figured out what the ring meant, that it wasn’t just a family trinket, but he was pretty good at living in denial.  He’d even tried to convince himself that the ring had been stolen from this Liam lad when he’d first seen the posters, but he wasn’t dumb enough to keep denying the truth.

"Niall's idea. Lor...she tried to talk him out of it, said she'd find it." Liam ran his hand through his fauxhawk, causing it to stand up a little taller, bringing a smirk to Zayn's face. Liam looked surprised for a minute, but then gave a small smile in return. "She must have known you had it."

"That would explain my flat being turned inside out the other day. Thought I'd been burgaled for half a second before I realized I had nothing worth stealing." He snorted at himself. "The ring was still in my jeans pocket. She, of course, didn't tell me what she'd been looking for."

They sat in silence, drinking their coffees. "I guess I should..." Liam finally said, turning to grab his jacket and trying to stand.

Zayn still had questions, but, really, what right did he have to ask. "Of course, gotta get back and let her know you found it, right?"

"Right," Liam said, chewing his lip again. He hesitated once he stood, locking his brown eyes to Zayn's hazel. "Are you going to..."  

His answering laugh startled Liam. "Keep seeing her? No way, mate. Once bitten, twice shy. Plenty of fish...all of those platitudes that people tell you when you've had your heart broken." He pulled his phone out, unlocking it and shoving it at Liam who took it, confused. "I've been ignoring her calls." There were fourteen missed calls from her number and just as many unheard voicemails.

"You didn't listen to the messages?" Zayn shook his head, watching as Liam's finger hovered, his eyes questioning. When the other boy didn't say anything, he ran his finger over it, and the speakerphone icon.

They listened together to her voice. The first few were simply, "Call me, Zee." By the fifth message, her voice sounded strained. "Love? I'm getting worried, please call. I love you." Liam fell back into his chair, running his hand over his face. He knew that Loren had been cheating, this meeting to get her ring back was proof of that; but hearing her tell someone else that she loved them was too much.  He blinked back the tears and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Don't torture us anymore," Zayn said, pulling the phone away and hitting the "delete all" for the messages. He rubbed at his eyes, glad that he had managed to keep his emotions in check, one of them falling apart was more than enough for today. He opened his messages and quickly typed something, showing the phone to Liam before hitting send.

 

[](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GBPO)

( [text image](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GBPO))

 

The sob took both boys by surprise as Liam knocked the phone out of Zayn's hand. "No."

Zayn slid his chair around the table so that he was next to Liam, hesitating only a moment before throwing an arm over the other boy's shoulders. "All right, all right." He rubbed his upper arm gently. "Are _you_ going..."

Liam was still crying. "I don't know...I just don't know...." His mind had been spinning since finding out, going between calling it off for good with Loren and just pretending nothing had happened.  He still wasn’t sure what he wanted to do.  He glanced at Zayn out of the corner of his eye, hoping maybe he could provide him with some answers. "Tell me about you and her."

"I don't think..."

"Please." Liam looked straight into his eyes then and Zayn knew he couldn't say no to the hurt he saw there.

"We need more coffee and maybe we should move to one of the couches, yeah?" Liam nodded and headed to the counter as Zayn grabbed his jacket and made a move to one of the couches, getting to it just before a couple who gave him a dirty look.

Once Liam joined him, handing him a cup and setting a plate with a couple of pastries on the small table in front of the couch. "In case we get hungry," he said with a shrug.

They settled back against opposite arms of the couch, turned towards each other. "I'm not sure where to start..." Zayn picked at the threads at the knee of his jeans, making the hole bigger, trying to decide what the other boy was looking for.

"The beginning, I guess. How did you meet?"

Zayn talked about being an art student at the local university and his Life Drawing class. Every session, there was another nude model for the class to sketch and, one day, a few months previously, the model had been Loren. She'd caught his eye and given him a cheeky wink. He'd been instantly smitten. She'd asked him to lunch after class and they'd seen each other at least two or three times a week after that, including a few overnights at his place.

"Must have been the nights she said she was visiting her mum." Liam's voice was quiet, barely audible over the noise of the coffee shop, but Zayn still felt the words twist inside him.

He told Liam that even though it had only been a couple months, she already had a key to his flat, making a mental note to find a way to get it back from her. She wasn't worth the money it would take to change the locks. He begrudgingly admitted that, even before he'd found the ring, he'd been growing a bit suspicious because he'd never seen where she lived.

"With me," Liam whispered and Zayn nodded without surprise.

"I never even saw the restaurant she works at," he said, shaking his head at himself, realizing what a blind fool he'd been.

Liam choked on the sip of coffee he'd just taken. "She works at Mirage," he said, chuckling at Zayn's reaction to hearing the name of a local gentlemen's club.

"She's a stripper?!" Zayn near-shrieked around the pastry he had just lifted to his mouth. He couldn't believe he hadn't known that, but clearly Loren was very good at keeping secrets. "She told me she waited tables."

"That's what she tells everyone," Liam responded, watching as the feeling of "special" was stripped even more away from the other boy. "She does wait tables part of the time, so that isn't technically a lie; it's just that, most of the time, she's a 'clothing optional entertainer'." He hid a smirk behind his hand, but his eyes glowed with mirth. "Her words. Not mine."

"You're taking the piss!" Zayn laughed, slapping Liam’s leg, lowering his voice as he realized other patrons and the barista were watching them.

"Nope," he replied, popping the "p" with an honest-to-goodness giggle. "It's how we met, actually."

"Make a habit of watching clothing optional entertainment, do ya?" Zayn couldn't explain why the thought of this near-stranger frequenting gentlemen's clubs surprised him, but it did.

Liam's cheeks warmed and he wondered why he was embarrassed by Zayn's misconception. "NO! No! No. No, I work security at the club. Met her when she came to audition. I'm pretty close with the owners, so I might have convinced the boss to hire her." His eyes held a look caught between nostalgia and regret.

"Should have known with those arms you were a bouncer," Zayn replied, reaching out to squeeze Liam's bicep, stopping when he felt him tense under his grasp. "Mate, sorry..." He yanked his hand back, running it roughly through his hair. "I don't know what...I mean, I wasn't trying..."

Liam held up a hand, stopping the word vomit before it got worse. "Nothing to apologize for, just surprised me." He clasped his hands together in his lap and looked down at them. "I don't do compliments well." His eyes shot back up. "Not that..."

A laugh burst out of Zayn before he could stop it, his tongue pushing behind his teeth and eyes crinkling shut. He punched him lightly in the spot he’d just been holding. "It was a compliment, man. No worries. It's obvious you work out; wish I had the willpower."

Liam shrugged, still not meeting Zayn's eyes. "It's not that hard." A look of intense concentration crossed his face before he continued speaking. "You know the gym on Baltimore Street?" Zayn made a noise of agreement. "It's a good one. You could come and work out with me. Sometimes it's easier to have someone to suffer with." The last words were mumbled and Zayn almost missed them.

"Yeah?" he asked, surprised and, honestly, a bit pleased. "Sounds like it could be fun." He  imagined Liam sweaty and lifting weights, pinching his own thigh to stop his mind from spiraling any further down. Liam looked up at him and he hoped his shy smile covered his not so shy thoughts. "When?" 

They made plans to meet the following morning and gathered their stuff to leave. "So..." Liam stated as he pulled money out of his pocket for the tip jar, the barista had made sure their coffee cups stayed full throughout the afternoon. "Are you really done with her?" He knew the guy had said he was, but he wanted to double check. Although, he really didn’t know what he would do if the guy said he was going to continue. Punch him in his perfect face, probably.

Zayn nodded. He wouldn't say he wasn't heartbroken, but after spending the afternoon with Liam, he realized that he wasn't the bad guy; the only person to blame in this situation was Loren. Ideally, she deserved to lose both of them, but he had a feeling that wasn't going to be the case. "I'm guessing that you're not." Liam blushed, feeling a bit naive. "Look, I get it." He really did. "You've got a bit more invested." He gestured towards the ring still on Liam's pinkie finger. "Maybe not mention this," he gestured between the two of them and then around the coffee shop, "to her."

Liam nodded. "Or the gym."

"Or the gym," he agreed with a small smile. "Our little secret." He headed toward the door, turning at the last minute. "Bye, Liam. It really was nice to meet you."

 

 


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. I honestly am so excited by the response to Chapter One. I didn't expect any of it and I appreciate all of it.
> 
> For this and future chapters, the wonderful Jess has officially become my beta. It only makes sense, she's been holding my hand on this forever.
> 
> This chapter has a lot of images. They start slowing down soon, I promise. I was just having so much fun with them. 
> 
> As always - Don't know 'em. Don't own 'em. Don't show 'em.
> 
> So...enjoy, hopefully.

Liam stood outside his flat, twisting the ring around his pinkie, thinking too hard. His thoughts were on Loren, on the ring, on Zayn, on what he was going to tell Loren about the ring, and if he was going to tell her about Zayn. He was pretty sure that if he admitted that he knew about Zayn, he'd be in for hours of her trying to convince him that the other boy was a liar. After about fifteen minutes, he was startled by Loren exiting the lift.

He shoved the ring into the pocket of his jeans as she approached him, her eyebrows drawn together in confusion. "Did you forget your key again, babe? I keep telling you that you need to tie it around your neck or something."

Liam shook his head in response as much as to clear the fog that had settled over his mind. "No. I just got here and was getting my..."

She interrupted him, opening the door and ignoring whatever it was he'd started to say, letting the door nearly slam shut in his face. "Where were you? I thought you were going to do the laundry today. Did you make dinner?” She glanced in the kitchen.

Liam caught the door and entered the flat, locking up behind them. He picked her coat up from where she'd dropped it and hung it up before hanging his beside it. "I went to that new coffee place, Hazza's. I just got home, so I haven’t made dinner yet."

She made a disappointed sound as she continued down the hall to their bedroom. "Did you get my laundry done at least? I really need my white shirt for going out with the girls tonight."

Liam sighed. "It's on a hanger in the bathroom. I tried to steam out some of the wrinkles while I was showering." He walked into the kitchen, pulled chicken out of the fridge and started preparing a quick dinner.

A few minutes later she came into the kitchen carrying the shirt. "It needs to be pressed. Hurry up because I've got to be going soon." She started to walk out of the room before stopping and turning back to face him. “I don’t know why we can’t just send the laundry out, it would make our lives so much easier.” She disappeared back down the hall into the bathroom, leaving Liam to take care of the shirt and finish making dinner.

“At least my life,” Liam mumbled, hoping that she didn’t hear him.

Once the shirt was pressed, and Loren was dressed and ready to go, she sat across from Liam at the table, picking up her fork and poking at the chicken Caesar salad on her plate. "Looks good, babe," she said, smiling at Liam. She could tell he was in a mood, so she figured she better placate him a bit or he might give her a hard time about going out tonight, and she really wanted to go check on Zayn.

"It was pretty simple," he told her. He glanced up, pushing the food around on his plate, yet to take a bite because he was honestly still full from the coffee and pastries with Zayn. "So, where are you and the girls going tonight? Is it going to be a late one?"

"Erin didn't say where we were going." Loren looked out the window next to the table, trying to think if she should say more.  She knew that keeping her stories simple were the best way, but usually Liam didn’t seem so interested.  She gave him a curious look; did he suspect?  Did the missing ring finally tip him off? Her mouth started moving before she could stop herself. "I'll probably end up staying with her or at my mum's. I don't want to risk waking you when I come in."

Liam thought about all the times she'd told him the same thing and he'd chalked it up to her being considerate of him and his schedule.  It didn’t matter though because he normally sat up anyway. He sat up because he loved her and worried about her. All those times she'd probably been sleeping curled up with Zayn; Liam the furthest thing from her mind. Now, he just felt like an idiot. "Just text and let me know, yeah?"

She pushed herself out of the chair, walking around the table and dropping herself into his lap. He was being very clingy and she couldn’t have that, so she knew she had to give him a little attention to keep him from overthinking. "Of course, babe. I wouldn't want you to worry." She wrapped her arms around his neck, rubbing her nose against his, pulling a tiny smile to his lips. "There's my boy," she cooed, pressing her lips to his and, for a moment, Liam forgot everything else.

His phone buzzed in his pocket and Loren pulled back to look at him. "Who is that?" she snapped.

Liam shrugged. "Probably Niall. He mentioned going for a pint tonight." He saw Loren narrow her eyes at him. "That's not a problem, is it? I mean, I figured that since you weren't..." he trailed off as she pushed herself off his lap abruptly.

Loren walked towards her coat. "No, it's not a problem. Just behave yourself. Niall has a tendency to encourage you to be naughty." She knew Liam would never do anything to disrespect their relationship, it just irritated her when he spent money doing something with someone else.  Then he would complain that money was tight, but she knew there was always money if he really wanted to get to it. She threw a smile over her shoulder at him, blowing a kiss. "Behave. I love you."

As the door closed behind her, all Liam could think was how her voice had sounded exactly like the "I love you," she had left on Zayn's voicemail. Liam let his forehead rest on the table as he thought about his life. He quickly realized that wasn’t a good thing to do, so he pulled his phone out and called Niall, making note that his phone needed to be charged before he went anywhere.

***

Zayn was stretched out on his sofa, staring at the ceiling, his sketchbook lay forgotten on his chest, pencil shoved behind his ear. He'd started sketching when he'd returned from the coffee shop, but quickly realized that he couldn't focus and gave up, his mind going over Liam. And Loren. And LiamandLoren. LorLi. He mentally smacked himself, blaming Louis who had come up with Zaren. That boy was obsessed with ship names.  He’d even dubbed their bromance Zouis.  

He heard the key in the lock and sat up, cursing to himself when he saw Loren walk carefully into the flat. She glanced around and her eyes grew wide when she saw him over the back of the sofa. "Oh, thank God!" she squealed, dropping her coat and purse in the doorway to run around the sofa, throwing herself bodily on top of Zayn. "I thought you were dead," she whispered into his neck, blinking back tears. She didn’t honestly think that, but she couldn’t imagine any other reason he’d ignore her calls for the past few days.  “I was so worried.”  She pressed kisses into his neck, brushing her nose over his ear lobe before taking it gently between her teeth.

Zayn froze for a beat, nearly melting into the embrace, before pushing Loren off of him, causing her to fall onto the floor with a thud and a curse. "What the fu-" she started, but Zayn just stood and looked down at her.

"We're done." He stepped over her and into the hallway, picking up her keys that she'd dropped to the floor. She watched him as he slid the key to his flat off her key ring and slipped it into his pocket. Then he picked up her coat and purse and held them out. "Leave."

She stood slowly, confused, and brushed herself off. "Zee, what's going on?" Two days ago when she’d seen him, everything had been fine. He’d been a little quieter than normal, but she'd  chalked it up to him being distracted by the big project he had due in his multimedia class.  Now, it was like someone had flipped a switch. “Did I do something wrong?”

He shook his head, not wanting to tell her he knew about Liam, not wanting to stand in the other boy's way if he chose to stay with her. He couldn't think of anything to say to her. "It's not you. It's me."

_“Seriously?!”_ she snorted as she yanked her things out of his arms, staring at him, waiting for him to say something to stop her. He stood, his gaze hard, arms crossed over his chest.  "Yeah, okay. Whatever." She stormed out the door and he shut it, locking up behind her, ignoring her shouted curses at the door. He thinks he heard her say that she deserves better and he shook his head, thinking she wouldn't know better if it smacked her in the face.

"It's definitely you," he muttered under his breath as he pulled his buzzing mobile out, surprised to see Liam's contact come up on the screen.

[](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GBPL)

([text Image](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GBPL))

Zayn sighed and let his head fall back against the door. He could picture Liam sitting on a sofa, much like his, hunched over the phone grasped in his hands, puppy eyes staring at it and waiting for a response. He knew that lying to him might protect his feelings for now, but he really didn't want to be another person that lied to him.

[](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GBPf)

([text image](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GBPf))

When Liam didn't respond right away, he figured that was the end of the conversation.  He honestly was surprised that Liam had suggested the gym the next day.  Although, he’d also been surprised when they’d spent several hours together at the coffee shop.  When he’d agreed to meet him, he figured they would meet, call each other nasty names, he’d give the ring back and that’d be it.  Instead, he’d actually had a decent time and was looking forward to seeing the other boy again.  His life was so weird.

He headed into the bathroom to take a quick shower, laying his phone on the counter. He was feeling the need for a drink and knew that Louis would be up for it, so he wanted to be sure he was looking especially good, feeling the intense need to try and pull someone.  He needed something, or someone, to get his mind off of everything. He had just stepped into the shower when he heard his phone buzzing incessantly. He shut off the water and climbed out of the shower, reaching out to catch his phone just as the buzzing sent it over the edge.

 

[](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GBP8)

([text image](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GBP8))

_1_ _missed call from Ring Guy._ Zayn made a mental note to change Liam's contact name in his phone.

[](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GBZd)

([text image](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GBZd))

Zayn felt terrible as he debated calling Liam back, but chose to send him a quick text instead, hoping that would be enough to make the boy feel better. He wasn’t sure he would be able to handle hearing the distress in his voice. He was still bothered by the strong emotions he had displayed earlier.  Texts were so much safer.

[](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GBZ2)

([text image](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GBZ2))

He was about to put his phone back down when he thought better of it and sent off one more text.

[](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GBZA)

([text image](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GBZA))

The response came back quickly, a simple ‘thumbs up’ emoji.  He rolled his eyes at the sudden change in Liam.  That boy was all over the place emotionally and he wasn't sure what to think about that. He climbed back into the shower, his mind still on the minor breakdown he'd just witnessed.

***

Liam sat at the table, waiting for Niall to slide in across from him and pass his pint over. "So, how did it go?" Liam shrugged, startling when Niall reached across and tugged on his shirt, pulling the collar down. "No bite marks."

Liam laughed and shook his head. "He seems like a nice guy, actually." He took a long drink, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

Niall nodded. "So, did he explain how he ended up with the ring?" Niall had assumed that Loren had just misplaced the ring, but that Zayn guy had been so jumpy earlier that he was beginning to wonder if he’d stolen it and then had a crisis of conscience when he saw the flyers.

Liam wasn't sure how much of the story he wanted to share with Niall. He knew his friend wouldn't say anything, but he didn't want to see pity or judgment in his eyes. "Er...he goes to uni with Loren."

"Did she leave it in one of her classes? Was it that one where they draw her starkers?" Niall stood to go get another drink before Liam could respond.

Liam fiddled with his phone, his eyes going over the text from Loren.

[](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GBZq)

([text image](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GBZq))

He hadn't responded, but figured she didn't really need an answer from him anyway. He wondered where she was actually staying tonight. He wondered, again, if Zayn had lied. If he and Loren were now laughing behind his back, talking about what a fool he was. He ran a hand roughly through his hair before he shot off a text to her before he could stop himself.

[](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GBZy)

([text image](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GBZy))

Niall's laughter brought Liam's attention back to the room around him and was surprised to see Niall talking to Zayn and another lad with brown hair. "Look who I found at the bar, Li. Mr. Sparkles himself!"

Zayn laughed as his friend looked confused. "This is Louis. Lou, this is Liam and Niall."

The brunette nodded, running his eyes over Liam before turning back to Zayn. "He's the one, eh?" Zayn smacked him in the arm, but nodded. "Don't know why she would cheat on him with your skinny arse. I mean, have you seen his arms?"

Niall's jaw dropped. "What?! Loren cheated on you?! With Mr. Sparkles?!" He kept looking back and forth between his friend and Zayn. "I hope to hell you told her to the hit the road, Liam."

Liam's face flushed and he pushed himself out of the booth. "I think I need to head home. I'm not really feeling all that well." He started towards the door, stopping when he felt a hand on his arm, but not turning around.  He closed his eyes, sighing. “What?”

Surprisingly, it wasn't Niall, but Zayn's voice that reached his ears. "Are you okay to get home?"

"Just one beer, mate. I'm a big boy."

He heard Zayn sigh as the hand fell away from his bicep. "Not what I meant." Liam finally  turned to meet his eyes.

"I know. I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?" When Zayn nodded, Liam returned it with a jerky one of his own. "I'll see ya, Niall. Nice meeting you, Louis." Just because he was upset, he didn't need to be rude.

Once Liam had disappeared completely, Niall cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the other two boys. "Somebody needs to tell me what's going on here." Zayn slid into the booth and opened his mouth, stopping when Niall held up a hand. "First, we need a lot more drinks."

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next update is planned for Tuesday.
> 
> You can contact me on [Tumblr](http://josjournal.tumblr.com) and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/JolynnMG). I'd love to hear from you.


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise!!!!!
> 
> I know it's not Tuesday, but it is Independence Day where I live, so I thought I might post another chapter in celebration. Hope nobody minds.

Liam leaned against the wall next to the gym entrance. He glanced at his watch, shaking his head at his own obsessive need to be early. He'd been waiting for ten minutes and Zayn wasn't due for another ten. If he was coming at all. After Liam's text attack and behavior at the pub the night before, he wouldn't be surprised if Zayn decided he was more trouble than he was worth.

He had said he would see him, though, and Liam didn't know why he was worried. He didn't really know anything about Zayn, except that they shared the same taste in women. He chuckled to himself before his smile fell as he thought back over the last few weeks.

He'd panicked when he'd noticed Loren wasn't wearing her ring around the flat. He knew she didn't wear it while working, something about "spoiling the illusion". He understood; when his father had worked the line in a factory, he didn't wear his ring there, but he always slipped it on as soon as he got in the car to head home. His last day at the factory, though, was the last time the ring had left his finger.

It'd taken a week before he'd worked up the nerve to ask her about it and she'd brushed him off. She'd almost convinced him that he'd only hallucinated that she wasn't wearing it. She accused him of wishing he'd never given the ring to her in the first place, so he was just imagining it gone. He’d been so confused by the end of the confrontation, his head had been pounding. He'd felt so bad for upsetting her that he'd used his comic book money for the month to buy her roses, missing out on the latest Batman. He knew he could’ve bought it anyway, his parents were more than generous, but he felt so bad, it was like a self-imposed punishment.

After the flowers, she'd broken down and told him that she'd lost the ring. She had thought she knew where she'd left it, but when she'd gone back to look, it wasn't there. He was angry that she'd lied, but was more upset that the ring was gone. He didn't know how he would explain this to his grandmother. She hadn't wanted to give him the ring in the first place; she did not like Loren at all. It had taken weeks for Liam to convince her that Loren made him truly happy, that they were in love, that she wasn’t just with him for his money, before she agreed to give him the ring. The ring his grandfather had bought for her when they'd first gotten engaged. The ring that had stayed on his grandmother's finger even after his grandfather had passed away. The ring that was now missing.

After getting Loren to tell him that the last place she'd had the ring was at Uni, Niall came up with the brilliant plan to post flyers there. Liam hesitated only until he thought of the look on his grandmother's face if he had to tell her he'd lost the ring. He would, of course, tell her it was his fault; he didn't need to give the woman more reason to hate Loren. He and Niall had spent hours posting the flyers, trying to cover all the places they could think that Loren visited at the school.

"We should do the art building," Liam had suggested, heading to the edge of campus.

"She's taking art classes?" Niall had asked, confused.

"She poses," Liam had mumbled as they walked into the building. He’d sighed as Niall's eyebrows shot up. "Yes, like that."

Three days of nothing, Liam was ready to call his grandmother and beg her for forgiveness, when his phone buzzed with a message from an unknown number saying, "Think I have your ring. -Zayn" with a picture attached. The ring was sitting in the palm of a clearly masculine hand.

[](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GBZo)

([text image](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GBZo))

Liam's breath had caught in his throat. Did this Zayn's girlfriend find Loren's ring? Were they friends? Did they have classes together? He hesitated a minute before texting back.

[](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GBZm)

([text image](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GBZm))

Liam's vision blurred and his chest felt tight. It took every bit of his self-control not to heave his phone at the nearest wall. He didn't even know how to respond. After a few minutes, another text came through.

[](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GBZ1)

([text image](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GBZ1))

Liam had barely managed to text back a simple, "K. Name's Liam," to acknowledge the meeting. Niall found him on his couch a few hours later, still staring at his phone that had long since gone dead. He didn't want to tell his friend what he had learned, so he just told him that someone had found the ring and wanted to meet up to give it back.

It took Niall all night and the next morning to convince Liam to just meet the guy and get it over with. He shot down every argument Liam had: psychopathic axe murderer, sex fiend, con artist, vampire. Liam had even suggested texting the guy and telling him to just drop the ring off at Mirage. The thing he couldn't figure out was why Zayn didn't just give the ring back to Loren, slip it back into her bag like nothing had happened. He was going to confront Loren that night, if she'd come home. If it wasn't for the missed calls and texts, he'd have thought she'd spent the night with Zayn. Who was he kidding?  He wouldn’t have confronted her, he was too much of a coward, especially when it came to her.

He'd finally let Niall drag him into Hazza's, a half-hour late, which was unheard of for him. He had hoped the meeting would go quickly and that Niall would take care of it without any help from him. He should have known better. He shook his head, remembering Niall joking around with Zayn, but then again, he didn’t know the whole story.

Liam had been surprised when he'd first looked up at Zayn. He didn't know what he'd been expecting, but not the classically beautiful boy that had been staring at him. His ‘You don't have blue eyes’ comment had caught him off guard, but not completely, because he'd found himself surprised that the boy didn't look as he’d hoped: unattractive, dirty. Instead he was faced with a person who could easily have been cast as a god in any film.  He had foolishly hoped that seeing the boy would show him that Loren had just been bored and looking for something different on a whim, not someone better. For a minute, he had understood why she’d cheated on him with this man.

"Liam!" Zayn's sharp voice brought him back to the present. "Alright, mate?"

"Yeah. Just..." he trailed off, waving his hand in the air, catching sight of his watch. "You're late."

"Yeah....." Zayn dragged out the word. "It's a bit of a habit of mine. Louis tells me ten minutes early for everything and I'm usually still at least five minutes late." He shrugged, a slight blush to his cheeks. "You'll get used to it." Liam blinked, surprised. "Or not."

He shook his head as Zayn looked around nervously, his thumb rubbing against his upper lip. "You ready for this?" Liam asked, chuckling at how uncomfortable the other boy looked.  He felt an overwhelming urge to pat him on the shoulder.  He hesitated for a second and then remembered being comforted by Zayn the day before and went for it.

Zayn flinched slightly when Liam’s hand landed on his shoulder, out of shock more than pain, but, damn, Liam was strong.  Those arms weren’t just for show.  "Probably not. You didn't just invite me to, like, kill me in the locker room or anything, yeah?"

Liam chuckled, holding the door open for him. "Nah. I just hate working out alone and you were willing." He nodded at the girl, Jesy, behind the counter and hooked a thumb at Zayn. "Guest." She gave a quick nod and wink, making a note in the computer.

"I was really only planning on running the treadmill today, that alright?" Liam asked, once they’d stored their bags in the locker room, having both worn their workout gear to the gym. Zayn nodded and followed wordlessly to two of the open treadmills. They got situated, Zayn setting his treadmill at a much slower pace than Liam's. He knew he couldn't keep up and wasn’t stupid enough to try out of some macho ego thing.

They ran silently for a few minutes, Liam shooting glances at the dark-haired boy who was breathing a bit heavily. He opened his mouth a couple of times to speak, but shut it again, not sure what to say.

Zayn shook his head as he saw Liam's mouth open and close for the third time; he’d been watching him out of the corner of his eye the entire time. "Spit it out," he gasped out. "Whatever it is. I'll answer or not."

"Was she with you last night?"

Zayn stopped his treadmill and turned to look at Liam who kept running, refusing to make eye contact. "I told you that she wasn't. I really have no reason to lie to you. I'm _not_ that guy." His face grew angry. " _She_ ," he spit the pronoun out, "tried to make me that guy, but I am not that guy." He felt his anger flaring and something else, the panic that made his stomach clench and revolt.

He wiped down the treadmill and started to walk away, stopping when Liam grasped his arm. "I'm sorry. I just..."

"I get it, Liam. You're not the first guy to be lied to, yeah?" He shrugged, his face sad. "You can't let that keep you from trusting ever again."

Liam was silent as they walked into the locker room to change. He glanced over, noticing the tattoos on Zayn's arms extended onto the skin that his shirt covered and he found himself wondering where else he was tattooed. Zayn opened his bag and shoved his workout clothes in, laughing when something fell out. Liam reached down and grabbed it before he could, finding himself holding the latest Batman; the issue he'd missed out on because of the flowers for Loren.

"Sick, mate," he said, flipping through it. "Haven't gotten to read this one yet."

"I'll make you a deal." Liam looked up from the comic, his eyes wary. "You try to trust me and you can borrow it."

"Really?"

"Really." Zayn waited patiently as many emotions crossed Liam's face before it finally settled into a genuine smile, his eyes squinting at the corners. "There you go." He grabbed Liam's wrist to look at his watch. "I've got two hours till class. Coffee?"

"I've got time before work," Liam said. "Hazza's?"

The two walked out of the gym, shoulders bumping as they talked about comics and argued the merits of DC versus Marvel. When they walked into the shop, Liam hurried to claim the couch they'd occupied the day before while Zayn went to the counter to order.

"Back again?" the barista asked.

"You remember everybody who comes in?" Zayn asked, laughing and holding out a hand. "Zayn."

"Harry." They shook hands and Harry turned to get their coffees. "And your friend?"

"Friend?" Zayn asked, confused for a second.

"The person this other coffee is for? Or do you just not want to wait for the free refills?" Harry was smiling, dimples on full display.

"That's Liam. I don't know if..." he trailed off, glancing over his shoulder, laughing when Liam waved and pointed to his mouth before rubbing his stomach. "We just met yesterday, but I'm thinking that rudimentary sign language means he'd like a pastry as well."

Harry nodded and got the pastries together, ringing them up and completing the sale. "Well, you guys enjoy and let me know if you need anything else. Feel free to just shout from over there when you're ready for refills."

Liam and Zayn passed the next hour laughing and joking around, interrupted occasionally by Harry making a cheeky comment. When it was time to leave, they made plans to meet at the gym again the next day. It wasn't until after they'd said goodbye to Harry and parted ways that Liam realized he hadn't thought about Loren once since they'd left the gym. He smiled, whistling to himself as he headed off to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't thank you guys enough for the kudos and comments, they mean so much to me. This story has become my baby and to know that others are reading and enjoying it really makes my days.
> 
> Feel free to contact me on [Tumblr](http://josjournal.tumblr.com) or [Twitter](http://twitter.com/JolynnMG). I really like talking to people. :D
> 
> Next update planned for Tuesday.


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Tuesday! So, here's another chapter. 
> 
> Hope you guys are still enjoying this. Please let me know!! I love getting and responding to your comments. If you don't want to leave a comment here, you can always contact me on [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/JolynnMG) or [Tumblr](http://josjournal.tumblr.com).
> 
> Thanks, as always, to my beautiful beta Jess. I love you, girl!
> 
> And the standard disclaimer: Don't know 'em, don't own 'em, don't show 'em.

Liam was still smiling when he reached Mirage later that day. He pulled the outside door open, his smile faltering slightly. He didn't hate his job, in fact, he quite liked it. He’d always known he’d be working in one of the Mirage clubs, it was his family’s business after all.  He still remembered arguments from his father when he insisted on just being paid what anyone would. He wanted to prove he could make it on his own, that he didn’t need his parents’ hard earned money. He made enough to pay the bills, with a little extra for entertainment or spoiling Loren, usually at her insistence. Always at her insistence.  Daily, at her insistence.  And, yet, it seemed that wasn’t enough.

He liked the people who worked there, they felt like family. The dancers sometimes shared their tips with him, especially if he took care of a particularly difficult customer or walked them to the bus or their car after their shift. They shared even though he insisted he'd do those things anyway. The other members of the security team always had his back and were good for a laugh on a bad night. So, he didn't hate his job, he just wondered if there was something else out there.

"Liam!" Perrie, the bartender, shouted when he walked in. He smiled and waved before she turned her attention back to the textbook in front of her. Normally, he'd stop and check in with her, but he remembered her saying she had a huge Psychology exam coming up, so he left her in peace and headed towards the dressing room.

He pushed his hand into his pocket, fingering the ring that was still there. He was debating how he was going to do this; he was more nervous now than he had been when he gave it to her in the first place. He couldn't think of any way he could just hand the ring to her without having to tell her about meeting Zayn. He was debating just leaving it lying around the flat when he reached the dressing room door. He knocked gently while calling out, "Security!"

"Liam, you donut!" He laughed as Jade, one of the dancers, pulled the door open. "Just get in here."

He gave her a soft smile and a kiss on the cheek as he squeezed past her into the small room. "You know the one time I don't knock is the one time I'll catch one of you...indisposed." The girls rolled their eyes at him, laughing. "I know...I know...it's not the same."

Jade settled onto the couch next to another dancer, LeighAnne. They both had textbooks in their laps and were intently focused on them. He was beginning to wonder if he was the only person who worked here that didn't attend university.  

LeighAnne gave him a wide smile as she pulled something out from under her textbook.  “I got you that course catalog from the business school, Liam.” He took it from her with a smile.  “I think it’s great that you’re thinking about going to Uni.”  The girls all knew he was the owner’s kid, Loren had spread that around as quickly as possible after she’d found out, but they never treated him any differently.  

"She was here," Ella, the youngest of the dancers, spoke up from where she sat in front of a mirror, drawing carefully on her eyelids. Liam smiled softly as he approached her; he always had a particular soft spot for the young girl. "Don't know where she got off to." He dropped a kiss to the top of her blonde head, laughing when she smacked at him for making her almost poke herself in the eye.

"How goes it, sis? How's Georgie?" he asked as a blush grew across her cheeks at the mention of her boyfriend. "Still treating you right?"

She giggled, hiding her face in her hands, as the other girls teased her. "Of course. Your threats were received loud and clear, big brother." She stuck her tongue out at him in the mirror.

He started to ask Ella about school, she was studying art education, when he spotted Loren's bag sitting against the wall. The sight of it gave him the perfect idea for returning the ring, in the most cowardly way possible. Hearing Zayn's voice in his head, " _She left her school bag and I was looking for a smoke and found that instead_ ," he walked over and unzipped the pocket where she kept her cigarettes. He was reaching in just as the door opened and Loren walked into the room.

"Liam! What are you doing?" she shouted, making Ella squeak and LeighAnne and Jade look up in shock.

"I was just going to put this in there..." He showed her the catalog and she rolled her eyes. She’d already expressed her opinion about him going to school; it was a waste of time and he just didn’t have the head for it.  He felt the kick to his chest as he remembered.  “And look what I found.”  He held his other hand out, the ring in the center of his palm.

She eyed him suspiciously. "I looked there."

Liam gave her, what he hoped was, a wide innocent smile. "Must have missed it." She approached slowly, her eyes still cautious. "Isn't this great?"

Loren studied his face and Liam hoped the tension in his back wasn't obvious as Loren wrapped herself into his arms. He was really a terrible liar. He just kept reminding himself that it was true that the last place the ring had been, before Zayn found it, was that pocket.

"Oh! I didn't know your ring was missing!" Ella exclaimed, although she had seen the posters around the art building. "How lucky that you found it! I bet your grandmother was upset, Li."

"She doesn’t know," Loren snapped, sick and tired of the little girl sticking her nose into her and Liam’s relationship. "Now it's found, so we don't have to say anything." She gave Liam a big kiss, eyes narrowed at Ella over his shoulder. The younger girl just glared back, her face falling back into a bright smile when the kiss broke and Liam looked at her.

"I'll just hold onto it until your shift is over," Liam said, pocketing the ring again and heading to the door. "We don't need you misplacing it again." He hurried out of the room before he said anything else, the truth on the tip of his tongue and his chest tightening with panic.

The club was busy for a Thursday night and Liam had already escorted a half-dozen guys out the door, some into friend's cars and some into cabs that were paid for by the club. He was standing at the door, checking IDs, as he always did during Loren's turn on the center stage. He'd learned very quickly after they'd started dating that he really didn't like watching the customers drool over her. He had a hard time with all the girls, but he had a near impossible time controlling his temper when it came to what he thought of as his.

He's still surprised that he hadn't pounded Zayn when he first met him. After all, it was pretty obvious that the other boy had done more than just look at his fiance. He'd been so angry, but once he met Zayn, he realized that Loren had both of them completely fooled. He still wasn’t sure if he was more angry at or hurt by Loren's cheating. Maybe he'd talk to Zayn about it tomorrow; after all, he was the only one who could really relate to what he was going through. He was going through it as well, but seemed to be handling it much better than Liam. At least Zayn had made a definite decision about how to handle the situation.

"Liam!" Niall shouted as he bounced up to stand next to him, crossing his arms over his chest to mimic Liam's stance. While Liam looked mildly threatening, Niall resembled an over eager Labrador puppy.

Liam reached over and ruffled the other boy's hair. "Hey, Nialler. What brings you here?"

"You've been avoiding me today." He messed with his hair, trying to get it back to what it was, as a guy approached and Liam did his job.

"I was busy."

Niall nodded and then leaned to peek in the door before quickly covering his eyes. "Why do you always let me look?" Liam shrugged. "So, did you confront her?"

"Who?"

"Who? What do you mean, who?" He flailed his arms about, forcing a couple of people to duck to avoid being hit. "That two-timing, unfaithful, ungrateful, whor-"

Liam slapped a hand over his friend's mouth, feeling bad when the blue eyes flinched. "That’s my fiance you’re talking about." He felt Niall's jaw drop behind his hand. "Yes, we're still together. Yes, she got the ring back. No, I didn't tell her I know about Zayn." He gave him a stern look and Niall's eyes blinked owlishly as he dropped his hand.

"Sorry," Niall muttered, rubbing at his mouth. "I'll be good."

"Then put the judgy eyes away, please," Liam begged. "This is hard enough." He knew what everyone that knew about the situation thought. He also knew what his family thought of Loren without learning about Zayn. What he didn't know was how he felt about everything.

"Consider them put away. You're closing, right?" Liam grunted in approval. "Come round mine after?" Paul, the club manager, came to take over the door, sending Liam inside. Niall followed.

"Was thinking a night in with..." he trailed off as Loren slinked up, her body barely covered by the bra and panties she wore. She smiled up at Liam, without leaning in too much, couldn't let the customers think she was involved with someone.

"Li..." she whined out his name and bit her lip in practiced seduction.

"Where are you going this time?" he asked, his voice caught in his throat. He didn’t know why he was surprised, but he had hoped that maybe she would want to spend the evening at home with him, especially since the ring was back.  He’d foolishly been imagining the possibility of a romantic evening to get his mind off of everything that had happened.

"You make it sound like I'm never home, silly." She bopped a finger to the tip of his nose before her attention was caught by a customer. "Duty calls." She started to walk away, stopping to give a coy glance over her shoulder. "Erin's still sick. She needs me." The pout she gave ripped at Liam's heart.

" _I need you_ ," Liam thought as she disappeared into one of the private rooms with the customer and Andy, another member of the security team. He turned to Niall, "Guess I'll be coming round yours then."

"Good man." He clapped him on the shoulder. "Nothing a few pints can't cure, right?"

Liam watched his friend head towards the front doors as his pocket buzzed. He pulled it out and was surprised to see a text from Zayn.

[](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GBZ4)

([text image](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GBZ4))

Liam chuckled to himself as he shoved the phone back into his pocket, glancing at his watch and counting down the minutes until he headed over to Niall's.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Friday!
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy this. I'm loving all the comments and kudos, they are making my days so much brighter.
> 
> Feel free to come talk to me on [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/JolynnMG) or [Tumblr](http://josjournal.tumblr.com).
> 
> Couldn't be doing this without my beautiful beta Jess, so big kisses to her.
> 
> As always: Don't know 'em, don't own 'em, don't show 'em.

Zayn was kicked back on his couch, legs stretched out, feet resting in Louis' lap. He dug his toes into the older boy's thigh when Louis asked who he was texting. "Liam." Louis raised his eyebrows in a question. "Movie made me think of Niall calling me Mr. Sparkles," he said with a shrug. "Now can we turn this crap off?"

"It's almost over. Harry Potter’s next," Louis said, still staring at him.

"Sick," he muttered, glancing at his phone again and rolling his eyes since he couldn't find an emoji to do it for him. "What would you call this?" He showed Louis the phone, pointing to the last emoji Liam had sent.

Louis wrinkled his nose at him. "An awfully long conversation with a guy you hardly know."

Zayn kicked him again. "He seems to be a nice guy."

Louis smirked. "You feel sorry for him." Zayn's brow furrowed in his ‘I'm ignoring you’ expression. "Did he really stay with her?" Zayn nodded. "Idiot. He deserves pity. Or a swift kick in the arse."

Zayn knew not staying with Loren was the right decision for him; he refused to put up with an unfaithful lover. He'd been through it before, had done the second chances. He'd done third, fourth, and, almost, fifth chances. He'd only ended up destroyed. He knew he couldn't put himself through that ever again, but he also knew it was a lesson Liam had to learn on his own. Just because he couldn't keep Liam from the pain, it didn't mean he couldn't be there for moral support along the way.

"I don't pity him. I understand him," Zayn admitted. Louis had been there the whole time he'd dated Krasna, the girl who'd stolen, and later stomped all over, his heart. "LorLi is so much like KraZay, it's sickening."

"Except the whole engagement ring thing," Louis said, slapping Zayn’s shin; they were both thankful that Zayn had never proposed. He gave Zayn a mischievous smirk before continuing. "That is full on romcom stuff." Louis shrugged. "If you were both gay."

"Instead of one hopelessly straight and one undefined," Zayn amended, leaning his head against the arm of the couch, eyes blinking slowly; the day, and his earlier trip to the gym, catching up with him.

Louis barked out a laugh. "That's one way to put it."

"How else should I put it? My sexuality is situational. At least that's what Ant says."

"Who am I to argue with Ant?" Louis said, mock offended, open hand pressed to his chest. He's always teased Zayn about his childhood best friend; at first it was out of jealousy and now it was just out of habit.

"Wanker," Zayn said, his voice starting to fade into the gruff slur of sleep, his heavier accent almost making his words indecipherable. "Need sleep."

"Early morning class?"

"Gym with Leeyum..." his voice trailed off, followed by a soft snore.

"How cute, nicknames already," Louis said fondly as he stood and covered the sleeping boy, pressing a quick kiss to his forehead.

Louis put his shoes on quietly and went to the door. He was going to crash at Zayn’s, but he needed to run to his car and get the textbook he'd left there. It was nearing two in the morning, but he was wide awake, so he might as well get some studying done while Zayn slept.

He was halfway through the door when he found himself looking into the heavily made-up face of his current least-favourite-person on the planet. "Louis," Loren greeted him, dryly.

"Slag," he hissed back. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see Zee." She tried to push past him, but Louis stood firmly in her way. "Move."

"He doesn't want to see you."

"That's not your decision." She poked him in the chest with a sharp nail. "Mind your own business."

"You're right. It's Zayn's decision and he’s my best mate, making it my business." Louis held back from grabbing her wrist to stop her from poking him. He may hate her, but he'd never physically harm a woman.

Loren realized that being nasty wasn't the way to get through the door, so she dropped her hands and pulled into herself. She pouted out her lower lip and looked up at Louis through, suddenly wet, eyelashes. Louis watched the change come over her and was amazed; she really should think about trying out for the theatre department. He bit back a _"Is that how you convinced Liam to stay with you?"_. The words tried to push out of his mouth, but that really was none of his business, so he stayed quiet.

Loren's eyes shimmered with unshed tears and her voice was hiccupy and small as she whimpered out, "I don't know what I did, Louis." She really had no idea what had happened to cause Zayn to dump her so unceremoniously.  She also knew that the only way to get past Louis would be flat-out emotional manipulation.

"Really?"

She raised her hand to his chest again, running her finger gently over it this time. "We were so good. Then one day, he threw me out." She ran a hand over her own arm, over where she’d landed when Zayn had pushed her off him and onto the floor. "He threw me on the floor and then threw me out, Louis." She blinked back more tears. "He hurt me."

Louis rolled his eyes at her. "Is that what you’re going to tell everyone if I don't let you in to see him? Are you going to spread lies about my best mate?" She just blinked up at him, the corner of her mouth quirked into a smile.

"Then you better be sure you don't have any secrets, Loren. Nothing that you wouldn't want to get out." Louis almost laughed when her eyes hardened and her back straightened. "I'm sure if you think really hard, you will know exactly what you did."

_“Do they know?”_ she wondered.  Her heart started to pound a bit as she figured it just might be a possibility.  Zayn wouldn’t put up with a cheater. He’d told her about that other girl and she swore to him that she would never do that to him.  And she didn’t. She was doing it to Liam; he was the one she was engaged to, after all.  She shook herself, knowing she was letting her imagination get away from her.  There was no way Zayn knew about Liam; she was too good at this.

Louis turned on his heel and closed the door firmly in her face, leaning his forehead against it. He heard her heels clack away down the hall, as he blinked back a few tears of his own. He couldn't let that bitch keep hurting his best mate; if she tried to spread those rumours, he would ruin her. He turned when he heard Zayn shuffling around behind him.

"Where ya going?" he mumbled, rubbing a hand over his hair, eyes barely open.

Louis flashed him a smile. "Was thinking about going home, but got too tired."

"Gonna sleep against the door?" Zayn didn't bother to wait for an answer, just turned to stumble towards his bedroom. "G'night," he mumbled.

Louis watched his friend go before toeing his shoes off. He was suddenly completely knackered and dropped himself face first onto the couch, asleep before the dust settled around him.

***

Liam startled awake as the bed dipped next to him. He rolled over to see Loren before picking up his watch from off the nightstand and squinting at the face of it. Three a.m. He had decided not to go over to Niall’s, too exhausted after a particularly difficult customer at last call.  He came straight home and collapsed into bed.  He’d only been asleep for around twenty minutes.  "What's going on?" he grumbled, rolling to his back and laying out an arm for her to curl up next to him.

"Nothing. Go back to sleep," Loren whispered, pressing a kiss to his forehead before wrapping her body around his, her head resting on his chest. She hoped he would stop pushing the issue and just go to sleep, she wasn’t in the mood to deal with his neediness.

Automatically, he smoothed his hand over her back and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Thought you were staying at Erin's."

"Missed you," she mumbled before forcing a loud yawn. "Go to sleep."

His heart twinged a bit at her words and his lips quirked into a smile. Maybe everything was going to be all right. Maybe Zayn was a one-time thing. He'd seen Zayn, he could tell he was extraordinarily attractive; he could have been just too much for Loren to resist. Liam felt better than he had in days. He pulled her all that much closer as he let sleep take over.

  


 

  
  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next update scheduled for Tuesday.


	6. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No wordy author's note today. Just not feeling it...rough few days.
> 
> Thanks to Jess for the beta.
> 
> You can contact me: [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/JolynnMG) or [Tumblr](http://josjournal.tumblr.com).
> 
> Don't know 'em, don't own 'em, don't show 'em.

Loren growled when Liam's alarm went off a few hours later. "Times'it?" she mumbled, tightening her arm around his waist as he stretched to grab his phone, silencing the alarm.

"Nine," he said, running his hands over his face quickly in an attempt to wake himself up.

"S'too early."

"Heading to the gym." Zayn's face flashed into his mind and he pulled Loren closer, reveling in the fact that she was home with him and not out with Zayn or anyone else.

"Go later," she whispered, lifting her head and blinking her eyes at him before stretching up to kiss him softly. "Let me work you out."

He melted into the kiss, his body definitely on board with this alternative workout plan. His mind immediately pictured Zayn waiting outside the gym. He pushed Loren away and slid himself out from under her and off the bed. "Gotta go."

"What the hell, Li?" She sat up, crossing her arms over her chest, pressing her boobs up and together, distracting Liam momentarily. "Are you punching a clock?"

"Meeting...Niall," he said before he could stop himself, hoping she didn't notice his hesitation. He couldn't tell her he was meeting Zayn and he couldn't just say 'someone' because he'd spend the morning being interrogated.

"Niall hates exercise," she said, crawling across the bed towards him, a seductive look on her face, but her eyes hard with suspicion. She reached for him and tried to pull him back onto the bed. He stepped back and turned towards the dresser, ignoring the practiced pout on her face.

"He's turning over a new leaf. Wants to get healthy. Would hate to discourage him by being late. Plus, I already blew him off last night. Just being a good mate, ya know?" He knew he was babbling as he pulled on the first articles of clothing he laid his hands on. He always did this when he lied, made things too complicated. _"Keep it simple, stupid,"_ Niall always teased him. "Just doing like you do with Erin."

Loren shifted on the bed, pulling the duvet over her lap, still watching Liam. After a few minutes of silence, he turned to her, pulling a snapback over his tousled hair. "How is she feeling anyway?"

She looked surprised by the question and took a minute to answer, long enough for Liam to wonder if she'd already forgotten her lie. "She's doing much better. Told me to go home."

"Oh. I thought you said you came home because you missed me." He could feel the hurt look crossing his face before he schooled it into a neutral expression. "My mistake."

Loren watched him, curious why he was suddenly so interested in Erin. Thinking back to the night before and Louis’ cryptic threats, she found herself wondering if she’d been caught out. Did Liam know about Zayn? She watched him as she got off the bed and approached him. _“Time for damage control, just in case.”_ She reached for him. "Of course, I missed you, you idiot." He turned on his heel at her words and made his way quickly out of the flat. She stood indignant before racing after him. "I'm not the one racing out the door!" she shouted after him, her voice hot with anger.

"Not this time, at least," he muttered as the door slammed behind him. He ran down the stairs, out the door of the building, and kept running until he reached the gym.

He fell against the wall outside the gym, trying to catch his breath. He looked at his wrist, cursing when he realized he'd left his watch at home. He did a quick inventory and realized that he'd forgotten his gym bag and wallet as well. In fact, the only thing he remembered was his phone, which was at 1% battery and proceeded to die in his hands. He banged his head back against the brick wall a couple of times, stopping when his head hit something soft. He opened his eyes and found Zayn standing next to him, his arm stretched to put his hand between Liam's head and the wall.

“I'm not that late, am I?" he asked, mouth opened in a smile, tongue pressed behind his teeth.

"Wouldn't know, would I?" Liam snapped, causing Zayn to step back, pulling him away from the wall before he could smack his head again. "Left the house in such a hurry, I forgot everything." He glanced down at himself exaggeratedly, breathing out a large sigh of relief. "Remembered to get dressed at least."

_"Sad, that,"_ Zayn thought, fighting the flush that started across his cheeks. "No gym, then? Such a shame." He couldn't keep the laugh out of his voice.

"Glad you're finding this funny," Liam said, looking at his feet while rubbing his hand against the back of his neck. "I'm such an idiot."

"Stop," Zayn ordered. Liam looked up at him through his lashes. "You are not an idiot. I don't ever want to hear you call yourself that again. You forgot things. Big deal. We all forget things. No one is perfect." He waited until Liam finally looked at him completely. "Obviously, your mind was elsewhere. Since we won't be using the gym, do you wanna grab a cuppa and talk about wherever your mind is?"

Liam blushed. "Forgot my wallet, too."

Zayn bumped their shoulders together before taking him by the elbow and leading him towards Hazza's. "Guess you'll owe me, then."

Zayn held the door open and followed Liam in. "The usual?" he asked.

"We have a usual?"

"Black coffee? Pastry?" Zayn looked at him with raised eyebrows, wondering if he was being presumptuous.  They had both had the same thing for two days now, so he naturally assumed; of course, there is that saying about assuming.

Liam laughed and nodded before heading to snag the couch - their ‘usual’ couch. Is two or, now, three times really enough to make something 'usual'?

"Morning, Zayn," Harry greeted, smiling, dimples on full display. "Liam here, too?" He leaned to look around Zayn, nodding as he saw the other boy settling on the couch, looking a bit panicked. "He alright?" Zayn shrugged. "The usual?" Zayn nodded, laughing, realizing the other lad had yet to let him get a word in edgewise.

"How are you, Harry? Do you ever go home or do you just have a cot in the back?" Zayn asked, as he picked up the plate of pastries in one hand and wrapped his hand through the handles of both mugs.

"Bed upstairs, actually. Wouldn't be here as much if I could hire some decent help." He eyed the way Zayn handled his order with ease. "You looking for a job?"

"Sorry, mate. Already work at the art store, great discount on supplies. I'll keep an eye out. Think my mate, Louis, is looking for work."

"He reliable?"

"He's...Louis," Zayn replied before heading over to Liam, leaving Harry looking confused.

Once Zayn was settled against one arm of the couch, he looked at Liam who was sitting with his elbows on his knees, head in his hands, ignoring the coffee and pastries on the low table in front of him. He appeared to be mumbling to himself.

Zayn waited a few moments to see if the mumbling would become something comprehensible, but jumped into action when Liam started smacking the sides of his head with both fists. "Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!" he said over and over, his voice low, but still drawing the attention of other customers.

Zayn knelt in front of him and grabbed his arms. "Stop! I told you I didn't want to ever hear you call yourself that again."

"I am, though. Everyone thinks so." Liam avoided meeting Zayn's gaze, but wasn't struggling to pull his arms away. His body remained tense, shoulders pushed up to his ears, reminding Zayn of a turtle trying to hide in its shell.

" _I_ don't think so," Zayn said, face set in a serious expression.

"You don't know me," Liam snapped. "All you know is that I'm the idiot whose fiance is cheating on him." Liam froze, not sure if what he said was true, but knew it was still on his mind that there could be others besides Zayn.  Hell, he didn’t really know Zayn, he could be lying to him. He tried to smack himself again and realized that Zayn was holding onto him.

Zayn sat back on his heels, still holding on to Liam's arms, his hands sliding down until they clasped the other boy's tightly. "Is cheating?" he thought. He wanted to ask, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He couldn't bring himself to cause Liam more pain at the reminder.

Zayn released one of his hands and reached behind him to grab one of the mugs, pressing it into Liam's, now free, hand. "Drink this," he said firmly, only slightly disappointed when Liam let go of his other hand to wrap them both around his mug.

While Liam sipped his coffee, Zayn moved back to the other end of the couch. He watched the distressed boy carefully, tensed to move if he tried to hurt himself again. After a few sips, Liam's shoulders visibly relaxed and Zayn let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Alright?" he ventured, quietly.

Liam shook his head side to side slowly. "Better, though." He turned to face Zayn. "Thanks, mate. Sorry for the dramatics."

"My best mate's studying musical theatre, I'm used to drama." He took a bite of his pastry. "Want to tell me what that was all about through?"

"Would be weird to talk to you about..." he trailed off, looking into the space over Zayn's shoulder.

Zayn pressed his lips together. "Might be a bit awkward, that." He shook himself. "If you really need to get it out-"

"Did she ever call you names?" Liam asked, cutting Zayn off. He looked surprised at his own question.

"You mean, like 'babe' or something?"

Liam's face flushed and he whispered, "Idiot. Stupid."

Zayn snorted. "I don't keep anyone around who..." he trailed off as he thought back to Krasna. Her voice echoed through his brain, those same words and the other horrible things she used to say to him.

"This is why I'm an idiot." He pushed himself to stand. "I've got..." He didn't even finish the sentence before he strode towards the door.

Zayn watched him go, his heart breaking for the other boy. He recognized the defeated slope of his shoulders, could feel the phantom pull in his own. As the door closed behind him, Zayn had the sinking feeling he was never going to see Liam again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think, yeah?


	7. Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this is a little bit later in the day than normal, but I went out after work today. So, now I'm posting during movie night with my girls.
> 
> I really don't want to comment on the drama in the fandom this past week, but I don't want to ignore that it's happened either. All I will say on it is that it will take a lot more than this week to get me to give up on the boys. I hope ya'll feel the same. So, let's take a break from fandom drama for fanfic drama, shall we?
> 
> Thanks to Jess for being an awesome beta and my best friend. Love you, girlie!
> 
> As always, please feel free to leave comments (I try to respond to them all and I LOVE reading them) or contact me on [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/JolynnMG) or [Tumblr](http://josjournal.tumblr.com).
> 
> Just remember, don't know 'em, don't own 'em, don't show 'em.
> 
> Love you all,  
> Joey

Liam stumbled back into the flat, startling Loren who was stretched out on the couch, her phone pressed to her ear. He strode past her, stopping when she reached out to grasp his wrist, a questioning lift to her eyebrow. He just shook off her arm and headed to the bathroom, slamming the door behind him and immediately feeling guilty about it.

Loren sat up, saying goodbye to her mother and hanging up the phone. Liam was acting completely out of character today.  Between running out on her earlier and now brushing her off completely, she was beginning to worry.  She stopped wondering if he knew about her and wondered if, maybe, he was the one who was being unfaithful.  She could feel her anger flare, but quickly got it under control.  Yelling never worked with Liam; if he was cheating, then she had to make him think it was his idea to confess to her.

Liam slid down to the floor, his back against the door and his head in his hands. He started to press his hands against the sides of his head, squeezing hard. He was trying to stop the echoes of voices in this head. _"Idiot. Stupid. Silly boy. Doesn't know any better."_ interspersed with a deeper voice saying, _"I don't think so. I would never keep anyone around."_. Of course, someone like Zayn wouldn't put up with being talked to like that, didn't put up with being cheated on; he was strong enough to walk away from Loren.

Loren stood outside the bathroom and heard a tapping on the door, picturing Liam knocking his head back against it.  He always did that when he was stressed.  He either knocked his head against something or hit himself in the head. It was alarming the first time he did it, but now she honestly believed he just did it for attention.  As if she didn’t give him enough.

She knocked gently on the door, forcing tears into her eyes. "Li?" Her voice was quiet, like she was talking to a scared kitten. "Babe? Are you all right?" Liam's heart beat faster at the term of endearment, but his voice was caught in his chest. He couldn't bring himself to answer. "Love, you're starting to scare me. Let me in." Her voice sounded genuinely concerned, on the verge of panic.

He pushed himself to his feet and unlocked the door, pulling it open to see Loren on the other side, her eyes wide and wet with tears. She opened her arms and he stepped into them, resting his head on her shoulder as he started to cry. "I'm sorry," he said into her neck.

She cooed at him. "Of course you are, love. It's all right." She patted over his hair. "I know you wouldn't have run out like that if it hadn't been important.” She could feel him sag against her in relief, so she pushed a little further. “Just wish you would have been a little nicer about it."

Liam pulled back to look in her eyes as she rubbed a hand over his cheek, pulling his face down to hers in a soft kiss. "Love me?" he asked against her lips as she tried to deepen the kiss.

"Of course I do, you donut."

He flinched at the jab, although it was meant, he hoped, fondly. "Only me?" Her lips stopped and she pulled back to look at him questioningly.

"There's no one else," she told him, her eyes focused on his eyebrows and he felt his heart sink before he allowed her to pull him out of the bathroom into their bedroom, working to get him to forget the entire morning.

After spending the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon holed up in the flat, Liam and Loren headed to Mirage. "Hey, Li...Loren?!" Paul greeted when they entered through the back door of the club. He exchanged a look with Andy, who seemed just as surprised to see the two of them arrive together, holding hands.

The couple walked to the dressing room, heads together, whispering and giggling. Liam felt better than he had since before getting the first text from Zayn. They had discussed everything, wedding dates, honeymoon locations; everything except Zayn. She still had no idea Liam knew, but after today, he was convinced that it was a one time thing for her. He could, eventually, forgive her and they could move on together.

The only people in the dressing room were Ella and her boyfriend, George. They were sitting on opposite ends of the couch, legs tangled together. He was sitting very still, his eyes barely flicking towards the door as it opened. Ella was bent over her sketch pad, pencil flying as she looked up at George and back down at the page. Suddenly she threw the sketchpad across the room and let out a roar of frustration. "I can't get it right!"

Loren rolled her eyes and headed over to the rack of costumes hanging along one wall, pushing through and looking for hers. Liam walked over and picked up the sketchpad, smiling down at the half-done drawing of George. "The hair?" he asked, chuckling when Ella growled in frustration.

"I can't get the highlighting right. His hair is just too..." She waved her hands around wildly in the air as if she could grab the word she was looking for out of it.

"Poofy?" George supplied. "Messy?" He kept coming up with adjectives as he reached over and poked Ella in the side, making her laugh and try to push his hands away.

"Stupid," Loren muttered under her breath and Liam shot her a glare, relieved that neither of the two on the couch seemed to hear her.

Liam gave the book back to Ella and patted her on the shoulder. "You'll get it," he encouraged, smiling when he saw her peeking out from under her hair.

"Thanks, Li," she whispered.

"You should ask that guy Zayn to help you," George said, suddenly. "His stuff is sick."

Both Liam and Loren's heads shot up at the boy's name. Loren looking away quickly and if Liam hadn't looked up himself, he would have missed her reaction completely. "Zayn?" Liam choked out, trying to keep his voice in protective big brother mode. "Who's that?"

Ella looked up at him with a smile. "He's in my life drawing class. He's so good. Nice looking, too." Loren glared at the girl’s back, her face falling into a big smile when she saw Liam looking at her.

"Hey!" George said, shoving her gently before laughing. "He really is," he agreed. “Like a model. Bet he gets all the girls.” Loren dropped a hanger of clothing and stormed out of the room, leaving the other three staring after her. "What's with her?"

Something flashed through Ella's eyes, but she just gave a shrug. "She always disappears before she gets dressed. Probably a quick smoke."

Loren slipped out the back door of the club, clutching her phone in her hand. She debated texting Zayn, but after talking to Louis the night before, she was pretty sure he wouldn’t respond. She couldn't believe that Ella knew Zayn, that she didn’t know that Ella knew Zayn.  She was so careful to pick someone that was separate from this part of her life. She couldn’t believe she’d forgotten that Ella was studying art; of course, she tried not to concern herself with that little pain in the arse anyway. She tried to think back to the day that they met, but she couldn't remember seeing her there. George knew who Zayn was though, and he wasn’t in the art school.  He studied business.  If George knew him, that meant that Ella was close to him.

She took a deep breath as she thought some more. If Ella knew about her and Zayn, she would have told Liam, right? She never liked Loren and she, clearly, adored Liam, so she would have jumped at the chance to ruin their relationship. Reaching into the pocket of her jacket, she pulled out her cigarettes and put one to her mouth with her left hand. She flicked the lighter, the flame reflected in the diamond of her ring and she sighed.

She knew Liam loved her. He was really good to her and good looking, but he was so boring. Her life would be set with him, with his family’s money, even if he was too stubborn to use it. It was one of the things that bothered her the most about him.  She would never understand why he wouldn’t just take the easy route, why they couldn’t just live the easy life. She knew once they were married and he stepped up to take over the family business, she would never have to worry about money again. She really couldn't ask for more than that, could she? Who cared if he was uptight and terribly dull. He was still rich, good looking, and halfway decent in bed. Rolling her eyes, she yanked the ring off her finger before shoving it deep into the pocket of her jeans. _Out of sight, out of mind._

Once the echo of the door slamming behind Loren died out, George pulled Ella into his lap to make room for Liam on the couch. "So, other than trying to murder sketchbooks, how are you doing?"

Ella shrugged. "Getting ready for final projects in my classes. Have to go pick up canvases tomorrow. Not looking forward to lugging those things on the bus."

George flushed. "I told you that I’d take you after work."

"There won't be time before I have to be here." She kissed the tip of his nose with a shrug. "I'll be fine." She pressed a kiss to his lips and pulled away, laughing as he chased her lips for another kiss.

Liam watched the couple with a fond smile on his face, they so clearly loved each other.  He wondered if other people thought that when they saw him and Loren, but, because of her distaste for public displays of affection, he doubted it. When the kissing went on, he cleared his throat. "This is tomorrow, yeah?" Ella nodded. "I don't have any plans. Loren is going dress shopping with her mum. I could take you."

"Really?" she squealed, her blue eyes wide. He nodded, laughing as Ella launched herself at him, kissing his cheeks. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" He hugged her close as George reached over to tickle her, causing her to laugh harder.

The door swung open and the trio on the couch turned to see Loren glaring at them. "Did you want to remove yourself from my fiance?" she snarled at Ella before turning to George. "Control your tart," she hissed, George pulled Ella away from Liam and stood them up, his arms around her waist.

Liam's heart sank as he scrambled to his feet. "Loren..." he trailed off as she turned her glare on him, all the happiness he'd been feeling earlier melting away like a snowball in a microwave.

"I'm sorry. Did you want that tramp all over you? Am I suddenly not enough for you?" Loren was voicing everything that Liam had thought when he'd found out about Zayn. He opened up his mouth to argue when Loren suddenly threw herself at Ella, a nail scratching the side of her face.

Ella screamed and Liam grabbed Loren around the waist. He was trying to pull the older girl off when Paul appeared in the doorway. "Ladies!" he snapped and all movement in the room stopped as four heads turned to him. "What the hell is going on here?"

"She started it!" Loren gasped, pointing at Ella.

"You attacked her!" George shouted, pulling Ella behind him when Loren turned her glare on them.

"Of course he's going to say that, Paul!" Loren said, tears spilling over her cheeks. "He's her boyfriend. Liam, tell him that Ella started it!" She was confident Liam would lie for her, not realizing she was counting on him doing exactly what she'd accused George of doing.

Paul turned to Liam, whose face was frozen. He knew he had to tell the truth, but he knew what that would bring about from Loren. He cleared his throat a couple of times, feeling his chest starting to tighten.  He held his hands in fists at his side, trying to avoid reaching up and pulling on his hair. "Er..."

"It's okay, LiLi," Loren purred as she ran a finger over his chest.

He looked down at her and he felt his breathing seize for a moment.  He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Loren was upset that Ella was hugging me and she may have lunged at her," he said all in one breath. He closed his eyes tightly as he felt Loren smack his chest hard and hiss his name.

"You know the rules, Loren. You've been here long enough," Paul said. "Three shift suspension, effective immediately." He turned to Ella. "Let's get you to Perrie, she'll take a look at that scratch." Paul led George and Ella out of the room.

Liam looked after them, really wanting to follow. He turned back to Loren when she shoved him, forcing him to land on the couch, hard. "Really?"

He didn't know what to say, he rubbed at his chest where he'd now be assaulted twice by her. He tried to think of what he could say to calm her down, but nothing was coming to mind. He tried to stand up, but she was too close and he couldn't without pushing her back and it didn't matter how upset he was, he wouldn't hurt her.

"You know what? I can't even with you right now. I'm leaving for my mum's tonight. I'll be back Monday night, since I don't have anything to do until class on Tuesday.  Thanks to you." She glared at him as she grabbed her bag and stormed out of the room. The door slammed shut behind her, leaving Liam in a daze.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	8. Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is later in the day, but my computer decided to die on me. I had to completely "refresh" it and I've lost so much stuff. Thank goodness for Google Drive and external hard drives. So, I spent over an hour doing that and trying not to have a complete anxiety attack because of it.
> 
> Thanks to my beta, Jess, as always. She is fond of this chapter...or at least one specific part of it, so I'm glad to be posting it.
> 
> 85 Kudos! Over a thousand hits! You guys are really making my day!!! Please keep reading and commenting and please come talk to me on [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/JolynnMG) and/or [Tumblr](http://josjournal.tumblr.com). I always love to talk and make new friends.
> 
> And, of course: Don't know 'em, don't own 'em, don't show 'em.

Liam's shift passed quickly and quietly. One of the other girls came in to cover for Loren and no one seemed to even notice that she was missing. Except Liam. He kept checking his phone, hoping to hear from her, but it remained silent. A couple different times he found himself opening his text conversation with Zayn, fingers hovering to tell him about what had happened, ask him about Ella, anything. He stopped when he remembered running out of the coffee shop earlier. He was pretty sure that Zayn didn't want to hear from him.

Once everything was locked up, he'd gotten a ride home from George; Loren had taken her car, leaving him stranded at the club. Ella spent the entire ride apologizing and telling Liam that he didn't have to take her to the art shop the next day. She might not like Loren, but she adored Liam, and didn't want to cause him any problems.

"I gave my word, Ella," he told her as he got out of the car. He said he would be around to pick her up at nine-thirty, his mind only briefly thinking that was the time he'd been meeting Zayn at the gym. At least now he wouldn't head over there in hopes of the other boy showing up. He waved as the couple pulled away before heading up to his flat, only slightly surprised to find Niall sitting outside the door, a case of beer next to him.

"I stopped by the club earlier. Paul told me," he said, standing to throw an arm over Liam's shoulders with a quick squeeze while Liam opened the door.

"It's not a big deal, Ni. I'm fine."

"Didn't think you were anything else. Just didn't have any other plans tonight. Mr. Sparkles isn't answering his texts."

Liam glanced at his friend. "You texted Zayn?"

Niall shrugged. "He's a nice guy. His mate, Louis, is pretty cool, too." He stretched out on the couch.

Liam dropped down next to him, grabbing one of the beers and opening it. He downed half before he spoke again. "I don't know what to do."

"Do?"

"Loren. She's so mad at me, but I couldn't lie, ya know?" Liam gestured around. "I don't know if she's going to forgive me for this. She's going to expect me to cover the money she lost from the missing shifts."

Niall snorted. "Not like money is that big an issue. Just ask your mum and da."

He gave a groan.  Niall knew he wouldn’t do that unless absolutely desperate.  That’s part of why he loved Niall. He understood Liam’s stance on this. "I hate doing that. I know they would help me out, but you know how they feel about her." He ran a hand through his hair.  He quickly finished the bottle and reached for another.

"I do. I can't say I blame them, now that I know about her and Mr. Spar-"

"Dammit, Niall! His name is Zayn!"

Niall threw his hands up defensively. "I know his name, Li."

"Then use it," he growled at him, immediately feeling guilty for blowing up at his friend.

After a few moments of glaring and silence, Liam dropped his head. “Sorry,” he mumbled and Niall just let out one of his infectious laughs, getting Liam to join in.

“No worries, mate. I understand. I’m the safe one. You know I’m not going anywhere, yeah?”

He knew his friend was right. He felt all the anger building up inside of him and he had no outlet.  He couldn’t go at Loren, she would leave; if she even came back after his latest betrayal. He wouldn’t be surprised if he got a phone call telling him it was all over. Her foot had been halfway out the door before her suspension. Maybe more than halfway since she was already in someone else’s bed.

He’d already started to let it out at Zayn that morning and that hadn’t gone so well.  Of course, if he thought about it, he was the one that ran away from Zayn, not the other way around. He reached, again, for his phone to text him, but shook his head. He reached across Niall to plug in his phone instead, removing the temptation to text. There was no reason that he could think of that Zayn would even want to put up with him anymore.

“Where’d you go?” Niall asked, waving a hand in front of his face.

“Let’s just forget about it and have another beer, yeah?” Liam said, reaching towards the table. Niall watched him for a second, looking like he wanted to say something, but finally just shrugged and reached for another.

“As long as you’re good, I’m good.” They clinked their bottles together and sat back on the couch to watch mindless television, finishing off the beer, until they both passed out.

The ringing of Liam’s phone woke them both up.  Niall grabbed the phone, glancing at it before tossing it at Liam. “Pretty blonde,” he mumbled, his brain only functioning at lowest capacity.

Liam didn’t even open his eyes as he put the phone to his ear. “‘Lo?”

“Liam!!!” Ella’s voice shouted in his ear.

“Ells?”

There was silence. “You forgot.”

Liam’s mind started to wake up and he pulled his arm into view and glanced at his watch.  Ten o’clock. His eyes grew wide when he remembered the night before. “Art store!” he shouted, shooting to his feet and regretting it immediately.

“Yeah,” Ella said quietly. “It’s okay, I’ll just take the bus.” She sounded so sad and disappointed, Liam’s heart broke.

“No...no...I’m on my way. Give me ten minutes.”  He looked down at his rumpled clothes from the night before and his sleeping friend. He pulled his shirt over his head as he hurried to the bathroom.  “I promise. Ten minutes. I am so sorry, Ells.”

Her voice came back a bit brighter than before. “It’s all right, Li. I’ll be downstairs, waiting.”

He hung up and quickly changed his shirt, downing a couple paracetamol before rinsing his mouth with mouthwash.  He was racing out the door when Niall glanced over the back of the couch, confused. “Pretty blonde in danger?”

“Not danger, Ni. Go back to sleep,” he said, but the boy was already snoring before the sentence was out.

Ella had the door open and was hopping into the car before Liam had even stopped completely. “In a hurry?” he asked and she smacked him.

“You look like hell,” she giggled. “Guess I know why you were late.” She gave him a look, her eyes asking if things were okay with Loren.

“Niall.”

Her face fell a little, but she held a bit of smile at the thought of his blonde friend. “‘Nuff said.”

They chatted on the short drive to the art store. Liam had never been there, so he had to rely on Ella’s directions, which were a bit off, since she was used to taking the bus there. When they finally parked, they hurried into the store. Liam held the door open for her. “This shouldn’t take too long, Li. You can wander around while I go get them.”

“You don’t need me for the heavy lifting?” He playfully flexed his biceps at her, laughing when she swatted him in the stomach.

“I’ll shout when it comes down to that,” she said, shaking her head.

He smiled fondly as the girl disappeared towards the back of the store, he imagined towards the big sign that said “Framing and Canvases.”  He glanced around, completely at a loss. He could identify pens, paints, markers, even crayons, but he was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of everything. The variety.  He quickly turned away from the first aisle and looked down the second which seemed to be filled with books and magazines. Those he figured he could understand. He slowly wandered down the aisle, glancing at the different covers.  

About halfway down the aisle, a brightly coloured cover caught his eye.  He picked the book up. _“How to Draw Superheroes,”_ was the title. He flipped through, immediately drawn into the detailed step-by-step instructions. Halfway through the book, he pulled his phone out. He had opened his text conversation to Zayn and started to take a pic of the book to send to him before he caught himself.  He slid the phone back in his pocket and closed the book sadly.  He thought the other boy would really have liked the book, but he didn’t feel as if that was something he should have been thinking about.  He put it back on the shelf.

“Something I can help you find?” a voice asked and Liam turned around to respond. “Liam?”

Liam stared at Zayn, standing in front of him in a red polo shirt, a name tag pinned to his chest. “Zayn? You work here?” Zayn pointed to the name tag and raised his eyebrows, laughing when Liam smacked himself in the head, but with a smile on his flushed face.

The two stood in awkward silence for a few moments before Liam blurted out, “I’m sorry.”

“For?”

“Yesterday. I shouldn’t have…” Liam trailed off, trying to figure out how to put it into words.

Zayn looked around him before locking eyes with Liam again. “Do you have to work tonight?” Liam shook his head, confused by the sudden change in topic.  One of the perks of having worked at the club for as long as he had was that he regularly got Saturday nights off, although he usually volunteered to work.  “Come round mine? I think I need to tell you something.”

Liam’s stomach sank. What else could Zayn possibly have to tell him? Had Loren gone to him last night? Was he getting back together with her? Were the two of them laughing at him? He could feel the alcohol from the night before fighting to crawl back up his throat as his stomach twisted painfully.  

Zayn saw Liam’s already pale face lose even more colour.  He quickly reached a hand out. “Not about her. I swear, not about her. It’s about me.” He ran his arm over the other boy’s bicep soothingly, letting out a breath when Liam’s colour started coming back and his breathing regulated.  “There we go,” he murmured.

“Sorry,” Liam muttered.  “Things are…” he trailed off as Zayn nodded, his look understanding.  

“Liam!” They both turned their heads towards Ella as she bounded down the aisle and stopped as she saw Zayn with his hand on Liam’s arm. “Zayn!”

“Hi, Ella,” Zayn said, smiling softly and Liam thought he looked at Ella the same way that he did. “Are you here for canvases?”  The girl nodded and pointed to the back. “I’ll be there in a second to help you. Did George bring you or are you attempting the bus?”

“Liam drove me,” she said, smiling at the two of them.

Zayn turned to Liam. “You know Ella?” He gave himself a mental head slap when he remembered that it was Liam’s name she had called first.

He started to laugh. “Nope, picked her up on the street corner.”

Ella shoved Liam, finally breaking the hold that Zayn had on him. “Wanker,” she muttered and both boys chastised her for her language, laughing when their eyes met.

“Ella works with me,” Liam said, laughing even harder when Zayn’s eyes widened and he turned to her.

“Please tell me you’re a waitress.”

Ella’s lips quirked as she looked him dead in the eye and said, “I’m a waitress.” Liam laughed and Zayn groaned, covering his ears.

“I don’t want to hear any more. Take your canvases and get out of my store!”  He pointed towards the entrance, laughing as the two of them quickened their pace in the opposite direction to pick up the canvases.

Zayn was straightening the books and picked up the one Liam had been looking at, wondering if he was interested in learning to draw or if there was another reason he’d picked up the book. He flipped through the pages and smiled. He loved superhero comics and he knew Liam did as well. His fingers began to itch with the desire to draw, so he shifted the book under his arm to purchase it later.  He was just heading to put it behind the counter when he saw Liam and Ella trying to sneak past him, both of them loaded down with canvases. They were actually on tip toes and giggling quietly.

“I thought I kicked you two troublemakers out?” he asked, trying to keep his voice stern, but anyone could hear the fond. Ella darted over and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, laughing when Zayn pushed her off. “What would Georgie think?”

Zayn looked up and saw Liam watching them, a small smile on his lips.  “Don’t even think about it,” he told him, laughing.  Liam’s eyes twinkled and he leaned in, pressing a smacking kiss to Zayn’s forehead before running off, Ella trailing after him.  “I’ll text you my address!” he shouted to Liam just before the door closed behind him, the other boy waving his arm in acknowledgement.

 

 

 

 

 


	9. Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First, I have to start off with an apology for this chapter. My awesome beta, Jess, went over this chapter with a fine tooth comb. I, however, decided to go have a drink after work before posting. One drink turned into two. Two turned into three. All on an empty stomach (and paid for by an attractive hockey player). So, any errors in this chapter, please blame on my drunken stupidity.
> 
> Next, this was my favourite chapter to write. No lie, I LOVE this chapter. I really hope you all enjoy it as much as I do.
> 
> Now, please, don't be afraid to contact me on [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/JolynnMG) or [Tumblr](http://josjournal.tumblr.com). Let me know how you like the story or just say, "Hi". I love making new friends. Seriously.
> 
> Finally: Don't know 'em, don't own 'em, don't show 'em.
> 
> Loves you all,  
> Joey

Liam stood awkwardly outside the address that Zayn had texted him, his mind going back over the day, stopping at the moment he’d kissed Zayn.  He still couldn’t believe he’d done it. He didn’t know what had come over him; he wasn’t sure he could blame the alcohol, as he was hungover, not still drunk.  He wanted to blame Ella for being so adorable, but he knew that wasn’t it; he didn’t regularly go around kissing George after she had. He really could not come up with one good reason for why he did it, except that he wanted to, and the stunned smile he’d left on Zayn’s face had made it worth any harassment he would’ve gotten from Ella afterwards. If only it had been playful harassment he had gotten and not what had transpired instead.

“I didn’t know you knew Zayn,” Ella had said once they got to Liam’s car, still giggling together. The laughter had felt really good.

“Don’t really. We’ve met a few times.” He’d shrugged it off, praying for her to change the subject.  She’d stayed quiet while they loaded up the back seat with the canvases, the boot was too small.

He’d breathed a sigh of relief as they climbed into the car and he started to put the car into gear, stopping when Ella put her hand over his on the gearshift. “He had her ring, didn’t he?” she’d asked quietly, her lip pulled between her teeth.

Liam had looked away from her, out the window, blinking back tears. Ella knew. Ella knew and didn’t tell him. The pain was deep. The feeling of betrayal was worse than when he’d found out that Loren was cheating. The girl he considered his little sister had kept a massive secret from him. He’d simply nodded his head, refusing to look at her as he pulled out and drove her home in silence.

He’d ignored her thanks as he helped her carry everything up to her flat without a word. He shook off her hand when she’d tried to stop him from leaving. “Don’t. Please,” he’d said to her as he raced down the stairs and to his car.

Instead of heading back to his flat, he’d driven to the gym.  He’d grabbed the spare duffel he kept in the car and went inside, changing quickly. He’d jumped on the treadmill, putting in his earbuds and drowning out the rest of the world. The music flowed through his body as he’d worked out his anger, his hurt, his overwhelming pain.  After fifteen minutes, he’d gotten off the treadmill and headed over to one of the heavy bags hanging in the corner of the gym.  He’d strapped on some gloves and began methodically taking his aggression out on the bag, not stopping until he could feel the sting in his knuckles and the dampness on his cheeks.

Dropping to a bench near the bags and chugging down his water bottle, he’d let the aches in his arms overcome the ache in his heart. Once his heart rate had slowed down and he could take a breath without fresh tears flowing, he’d headed into the locker room, stepping into the shower and dropping his forehead against the wall.  He’d let more tears fall as he remembered the look on Ella’s face when he’d walked away from her.

Liam had called her once he was back in his car, feeling terrible when she answered, her voice making it clear that she had been crying as well.  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, Li. I didn’t…”

“Don’t, Ella. It’s alright. I’m sorry I was such a jerk. It’s not your fault. Just do me a favour, yeah?”  When Ella made a promise to do anything, he’d whispered, “Don’t judge me for staying with her.”

“Never, Li. Never.”

“Good.” The silence had dragged out and Liam was about to say goodbye when she spoke up again.

“Zayn would never have dated her if he’d known, Li. He’s not like that,” she’d whispered, her voice pleading with him to believe her.

“I’ve gotten that impression. He was pretty upset.  I’ve got to go. I’ll see you Monday at work, yeah?”

“Definitely. You know you can call if you ever need to talk, right? I’m here for you. We’re all here for you.”  He did know. He knew he could turn to just about anyone at the club and they would drop everything to help him out, because they knew he would do the same for them.  He also knew the goodwill did not extend to Loren; he was beginning to realize that was true of most of the people in his life.

He stared at the door in front of him. He’d been only slightly surprised by how close Zayn’s flat was to his, just on the other side of campus in the buildings mostly populated by uni students. He’d been standing outside the door for a good ten minutes, working up the nerve to knock. He raised his hand just as the door opened and he had to stop himself from knocking on Zayn’s forehead, the same forehead his lips had touched earlier. He felt the flush on his face.

“You’ve been standing out here for ten minutes, haven’t you?” Zayn asked, laughing as he moved aside for Liam to enter. He watched the other boy as he entered, his mind going back to the kiss on his forehead earlier, wondering if it had been haunting Liam the way it had been haunting him. He refused to admit he was disappointed when the other boy didn’t repeat the action as he passed him.

“How’d you know I was out there?” he asked, looking at their feet and toeing off his shoes when he realized that Zayn was barefoot. He set them to the side with the other shoes that were lying there, admiring the variety of footwear.

“You’re always early, right?" Zayn asked and Liam nodded, blushing, in agreement. "Right now, it’s ten minutes past, so I figured you were out there overthinking.” Zayn shrugged when Liam looked up at him. “Not judging, just saying.”

“Yeah...er...sor-”

“Don’t be sorry about earlier, alright? It’s fine. I probably would’ve done the same thing, to be honest. It was funny and El’s face was priceless.” He laughed and led Liam into the kitchen, opening the fridge and offering him a drink. He shook his head and followed Zayn into the living room and dropped down onto one end of the couch.

“Not as good as your face when you found out how I know Ella,” Liam joked, his voice tightening only slightly at the name.

Zayn chewed his lip. “She knew, didn’t she?” Liam nodded. “I didn’t know that I would have to hide anything. If I’d known…”

“You would’ve hidden?” Liam was confused.

“No, I wouldn’t have agreed to go out with her at all.” He shrugged. “Ella didn’t tell you?”

“Not until today. We had a bit of a tiff, but we’re alright now.” Liam curled his legs underneath him. “You’re really strong.” Zayn burst out a quick laugh before slapping a hand over his mouth.  “You are. You didn’t even hesitate when you found out, you just ended it with Loren.”

“And that brings us to why I invited you over tonight.” Zayn tapped at his knees nervously, playing with the edges of the hole in the one jean leg. “Do you mind if I smoke?”

Liam shook his head. “Not at all, might have one myself.” Zayn looked a little surprised as he reached onto the lower shelf of the coffee table, pulling out a box and opening it. Liam’s eyes widened at the contents. “Oh! You mean…”

Zayn closed the lid and slid the box back into it’s spot. “Never mind…”

“No...it’s alright. I’ve just never…” Zayn raised an eyebrow. “You used to with…” He nodded his head along with Liam. “Of course you did.”  He dropped his head into his hands.  “I am such an-"

“If you call yourself an idiot, I’m going to throw you out on your ass.” He glanced over at Liam.  “And I’m keeping your shoes!” Liam burst out laughing. “That’s better. I don’t need to, just thought it might help. I can wait until…” he started to say “after you leave,” but he didn’t want Liam to feel like he was just going to dump him out the door. “Later,” he said instead.

“You-”

“Stop,” Zayn said, his voice firm. Liam stopped and fiddled with his hands in his lap. “So, the thing I had to tell you…” Zayn trailed off, shaking his head and reaching back under the table, pulling out another box.  Liam’s eyes widened in panic for a moment until he saw that the box held photographs.  Zayn flipped through them, pulling one out and handing it over to him.

Liam looked over the picture; it was Zayn, but a few years younger. His face was rounder, no sharp edges like now. Even then, he was unreasonably attractive. It was before the piercings and his arms were free of ink. Those clear arms were wrapped, from behind, around the waist of a girl with long dark hair and pouty lips. She was beautiful, possibly one of the most beautiful people he’d ever seen.  Zayn’s smile was wide as his chin rested on the shoulder of the girl.  His head was tilted so he could look at her, but she was looking into the distance; her eyes searching beyond the person with the camera.  

“That is Krasna.” Zayn said, pointing at the picture.  “I met her my first year of Uni. We had a Maths course together. You can see she’s beautiful, so when she paid attention to me, I thought I was the luckiest guy on earth.”

Liam looked thoughtful as Zayn continued. “After a few weeks of talking, I worked up the nerve to ask her to go for coffee after class.  I nearly fainted when she said yes. I even pinched myself a few times to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.  Why would someone like her want to go out with that?” He pointed to himself in the picture.

“You were cute.” Liam ran a finger over Zayn’s chin in the picture, feeling the fond radiating off of himself. He blushed, hoping Zayn hadn’t noticed.

“I was not cute,” he huffed out. “I was in love though. I remember thinking that this was the thing that people wrote songs about, that I had found my happily ever after.”  He shook his head sadly. “I started working at the art store to save up money to buy her a ring. We’d only been dating a few months at the time.”

“Wow,” Liam said, sounding surprised, but he understood the feeling.

“No judging, please,” Zayn pleaded.

Liam shook his head. “Never. Besides, I’m pretty sure I started thinking about proposing on the first date.”

Zayn flinched a bit, but he nodded, glad that Liam understood. He was glad that he wasn’t the only one who’d ever fallen in love far too quickly.  He tried not to get distracted; now that he’d started telling the story, he wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible. “We were inseparable.  When we weren’t in class, we were together.  If she wasn’t staying the night in my room, I was spending it at her flat. Her roommates were nice to me, letting me hang out at the flat while she was in class. Always treating me like a kid brother, but in a good way. It was like they genuinely liked me, not just putting up with me because I was Krasna’s boyfriend.”

Zayn’s face took on a dreamy gaze, but the corners of his mouth were tight, as if the dream were more nightmarish.  “It was about six months in when I noticed things were…” he trailed off, chewing his lip as he tried to describe the feeling he’d begun having.

“Different,” Liam provided and Zayn nodded.

“That’s as good a word as any for it. Suddenly we weren’t spending as much time together, but I thought it was just because school was picking up for both of us.  She always seemed to have plans with her friends. I would stop by the flat and her roommates wouldn’t let me in, their excuses were always less believable than hers.” He shook his head, and blinked a bit. “I’m sorry. You’d think I’d be past all this.”

Liam felt his heart squeeze at the look on the other boy’s face, it was the same one he’d begun catching glimpses of in the mirror the last few months and that he couldn’t escape the last few days. The hurt. The haunted look of a broken, or breaking, heart.  He felt tears in his own eyes and reached over to squeeze Zayn’s hand, intertwining their fingers when Zayn turned his hand to grasp Liam’s, squeezing back.

“I did something stupid one day.  I followed her.  I skipped all my classes and trailed her.  At first everything was fine, she went to her classes and then went to the diner where she was working.  I sat across the street in a coffee shop, the place that’s Hazza’s now, and watched people come and go.  I think I drank about fifteen gallons of coffee. I was so caffeinated, I swear I was vibrating.”

He took a deep breath, releasing Liam’s hand and reaching under the table and pulled out the first box again. “I’m sorry,” he said to Liam who just shrugged; it didn’t really bother him.  He did feel odd, though, realizing he was missing the feel of Zayn’s hand in his.

“Do what you have to, just-”

“Not going to force you, mate. The choice to smoke up is a personal one.” He pulled out a joint and burned the end before lifting it to his mouth. Closing his eyes, he took a long, slow drag, holding the smoke before exhaling away from Liam. He knew that a contact high was unavoidable for the other boy, but he didn’t need to blow the smoke in his face to make it worse.  

Liam watched him, fascinated as he saw the lines around his mouth and eyes slowly relax. Zayn put the joint between his lips again, another deep breath, fluttering eyelashes and Liam was entranced.  Without realizing it, he leaned forward, breathing in the smoke that Zayn exhaled.  “Mate?” Zayn drawled, his voice slow and measured as he blinked his eyes open at him, noticing how much closer he’d moved.

“Never really smelled it before. It’s almost sweet.” Liam gave a small smile and a shake of his head when Zayn held out the joint. “I don’t think so.” Zayn just smiled and leaned back against the arm of the couch, closing his eyes again.  “So, you followed her and were buzzing from too much coffee.”

Zayn lifted his head to look at Liam, having forgotten for a moment what he was going on about. “Yeah. While I was sitting there, my phone went off. I pulled it out and there was a text from Krasna.  Just a quick one to cancel our plans for that night. She said that she had to go visit her mum who was sick.” Zayn shrugged as Liam grasped his own knee tightly.  “I texted her back and told her that was fine and asked if her mom needed me to do anything and I loved her. All I got back was that she would let me know. Five minutes later, the door to the diner opened and she stepped out with a guy that I recognized as one of the other waiters. They stopped just outside the door…” He trailed off to take another hit, taking his time releasing it, feeling the burn in his chest as he held the smoke and his breath for a moment too long.

Liam leaned forward again and inhaled as Zayn exhaled and the older boy smiled, realizing if he leaned any closer, they’d be nearly shotgunning the smoke.  He shook his head, that would certainly send Liam running.  Liam leaned back against the other arm of the couch, halfway to a good contact high.  Zayn giggled slightly as Liam raised his eyes to look at him. “What?” Zayn shook his head, still giggling. Liam gave a small snort of laughter before gesturing to Zayn to continue speaking.

“You can’t figure out what happened?” Zayn’s voice was sharper than he’d intended and he immediately felt guilty when Liam flinched. “They kissed. They snogged right there on the sidewalk in front of the diner, in front of all of these people that knew she was dating me.” He remembered shattering the mug he’d been drinking out of and getting thrown out of the coffee shop and told never to return.  “I took my phone out and snapped a picture before sending it to her; no easy feat with a crappy Nokia phone, I tell ya.” He gave a bitter laugh.

“What did she do?” Liam gasped, horrified for this past Zayn who had been so bold.

“She looked at her phone, and then around, until her eyes fell on me. She stepped away from the other guy and ran across the street towards me. I thought she was coming to apologize, to beg my forgiveness. I thought she would do anything; instead, she slapped me and yelled at me for spying on her. For not trusting her.” Zayn ran a hand over his cheek, remembering the pain that had flared through his face.  The humiliation still burned as he remembered that moment. “I was so embarrassed. I ran back to my room, locked the door behind me and hid under the covers. Louis was the only person I talked to for three days.”

Zayn took another hit, smiling as Liam leaned toward him. “Are you sure?” he asked, while holding as much of the smoke in as he could, offering the joint to Liam, who hesitated before reaching out with shaking fingers.  Zayn watched as Liam slowly lifted the joint to his lips, a slow, shallow inhale followed by a quick cough, leading to both of them laughing hysterically. Liam tried again, a little more successfully, with a longer inhale.  He released the smoke into the air and smiled as Zayn’s tongue pressed to the back of his teeth, eyes squinting shut at him.

They stayed silent for a few moments, passing the spliff back and forth. Zayn kept a close eye on Liam, not wanting him to do too much.  The other boy seemed to be focused on himself, so Zayn took the time to study him, taking in the sweet smile and puppy eyes that were losing focus the longer he watched.  He took the spliff back when he decided that Liam had had more than enough.

“Is that the whole story?” Liam giggled as he took inventory of his body, aware of the growing fuzziness of his fingers, wiggling them in his lap before smiling up at Zayn.

Zayn’s face grew serious, taking another hit before continuing.  “I spent the days in bed, listening to Louis tell me that she was a bitch. Telling me that I deserved better. That things would be great now because I was single, man.”  He ran a hand through his hair, messing it up and making Liam giggle a little before leaning in and taking another hit while Zayn still held what was left in his fingers; his lips brushing the edges of his digits. Zayn groaned because he wasn’t fast enough to keep it away. “I was in love, though. My happy-ever-after was falling apart around me.” He stayed silent as he finished off the joint, ignoring Liam’s pout.

“At the end of the three days, I finally plugged in my dead phone and saw message after message from Krasna.  I got through the first couple and realized that the entire thing was my fault.” Liam opened his mouth, but Zayn covered it quickly with his hand, snickering when Liam licked it. “I know better _now_ , but _then_ I’d believed that I wasn’t a good enough boyfriend.  I wasn’t enough to make her happy.  I thought that I wasn’t enough for her.”

Liam’s head spun and he wasn’t sure if it was the weed or Zayn’s words.  He could hear them in his own voice, the very thoughts he had been having since Zayn’s texts started coming through that first day. The first time he realized that his fiance and Zayn’s girlfriend were the same person. He licked his lips, realizing they were really dry and the thought of forming words, to tell Zayn he understood, was not possible right now.

Zayn watched Liam’s tongue and bit his own in response. He understood; he remembered the first time he’d been high, the dry mouth, the room spins. He pushed himself off the couch, putting a hand on Liam’s shoulder to keep him from standing, or even attempting it. “Stay,” he told the puppy-eyed boy, giggling to himself when Liam let out a tiny bark. Patting him briefly on the head, he managed to stride to the kitchen and get a couple of bottles of water out of the fridge, opening one on the way back into the room and passing it to Liam. “Drink.”  Liam did.  Zayn settled back down, leaning against the arm of the couch and kicking his feet into Liam’s lap, a position he was used to being in with Louis.

Liam looked down at Zayn’s feet in surprise before laying a hand on one of his ankles and squeezing, giggling a bit.  He could see he was touching, he could feel he was touching, but the two didn’t seem to add up together.  “I think..” Liam started, looking up at Zayn with a grin. “I think I’m high.”

Zayn burst out laughing. “Really?” He shook his head. “Nothing I tell you is going to sink in at all anymore, is it?”

Liam shook his head, giggling some more as he grabbed the sides of his head. “Nope.” He popped the “p” and giggled again.

“You’re fucking adorable when you’re high,” Zayn muttered, hoping that Liam wouldn’t notice the comment, or if he did, he’d forget about it by tomorrow.

“What?”

“Nothing, mate.  Why don’t you finish that bottle of water and I’ll just put on a movie. Don’t think you’ll be heading home tonight.” Liam listened and chugged the water bottle, a few drops escaping his mouth and running down his chin to his chest, dampening his t-shirt as Zayn watched, chewing his lower lip.

Once the water was gone, Liam held the empty bottle out to Zayn upside down, grinning widely. “Good boy,” Zayn said, laughing. He reached over and patted Liam on the head as he let out another yip. Then, he took the bottle from him and dropped it on the table. Standing up, he pushed Liam back to lay against the arm of the couch, and covered him with a blanket, watching his body sink into the couch.

“If the couch wasn’t here, I’d be on the floor,” Liam slurred and Zayn nodded, suddenly glad he didn’t light up the second joint.  He knew the stuff was good, but it’d been a long time since he’d smoked up with a pot virgin.

He turned on The Avengers, smiling as Liam attempted to clap his hands, missing more than hitting. He settled on the floor, back against the couch by Liam’s hip.  The goofy boy reached out and ran a hand over Zayn’s hair, giggling at the texture.  Zayn tried not to push back against the hand. Normally, he hated when someone messed with his hair, but as Liam’s hand became lighter, he found himself enjoying the gentle touches.

It wasn’t long before the movement stopped. He glanced over his shoulder to find Liam asleep, mouth hanging open and soft snores coming from him.  Zayn stood up, adjusting the blanket that had already started sliding to the floor. He couldn’t resist pressing a kiss to Liam’s forehead, pulling back just as Liam’s phone buzzed on the table with a message from Loren.  He glanced down at the boy and for an instant hesitated before opening it.

[](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GBZi)

([text image](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GBZi))

Zayn stared at the phone.  Feeling guilty for reading it, but also something else.  He had almost forgotten that Liam was still getting married.  And what was this suspension that Loren mentioned? He glanced over at the snoring boy and shook his head to try to get rid of the fond thoughts he was having.  Putting the phone back on the table, he realized that Liam might see that he’d read his text the next morning; he crossed his fingers that Liam would just think he’d been too high to remember reading it.  With a quick sigh, he escaped to his room, collapsing face down on the bed, still fully clothed, ignoring the small amount of tears that soaked into his pillow.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First, my beautiful (oldest) daughter has made cover art for this story. I am putting it at the beginning of [Chapter One](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4242942/chapters/9600399), but [here is a link](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v466/jomp525/Face%20to%20Face/FacetoFaceCover_zpsehlbcqvb.png) to view it, as well.
> 
> Second, I have had a shit day and was seriously considering a) not posting at all until Friday or b) taking the story down entirely. Now, my mood has nothing to do with the story and everything to do with my life (anxiety, depression, husband forgetting today is our anniversary - again, employee shortages at work, etc...), but the story is the one thing I have control over. Thankfully (hopefully to you), that madness passed and I'm here posting.
> 
> Third...well, there is no third, I guess. Just the usual, feel free to contact me on [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/JolynnMG) or [Tumblr](http://josjournal.tumblr.com). Seriously, you guys have no idea how much your words mean to me and I really do like "meeting" new people.
> 
> And, of course, don't know 'em, don't own 'em, don't show 'em.

Liam groaned as music flowed into his brain.  He blinked rapidly and licked his lips, but his mouth was so dry that it made no difference. He struggled to sit up, his back aching as he heard cursing from somewhere nearby and the music shut off.  Looking around, he was confused for a moment before the previous night came back to him. He was on Zayn’s couch.  He had gotten high. He ran his hands over his face, smacking his lips; the dryness of his mouth made him feel terrible.  

He heard a small crash and looked up to see Zayn stumbling into the room, his hair a mess and his eyes still closed. He tried to call out a greeting, but his mouth wasn’t cooperating.  He watched Zayn bounce off the walls and furniture until he ended up in the kitchen.  Liam pushed himself to stand, his head feeling a bit fuzzy, as he attempted to follow Zayn without falling over.  He stood on the other side of the refrigerator door from Zayn, still attempting to form words when Zayn stood up, spotted Liam, and let out a yelp. Liam jumped back, losing his balance and falling on his butt, knocking the wind out of him.

“Shit, Li! I’m sorry!” Zayn’s voice sounded as rough as Liam felt. “I forgot you were here.”

Liam blinked owlishly up at him, opening and closing his mouth a few times before pointing at the water bottle in Zayn’s hand.  The other boy cracked open the bottle and held it out, smiling as Liam drained it quickly. He coughed as he used the back of his hand to wipe his mouth before finally speaking. “Morning,” he grumbled.

 Zayn opened the fridge again and grabbed another bottle of water before reaching over and offering Liam a hand, pulling him up to stand. They stood close, both wrinkling their noses at the others’ morning breath.  “Got a spare toothbrush, if you like,” Zayn offered and Liam nodded, following him to the bathroom.  They brushed their teeth side by side, Liam nearly spitting toothpaste out on the back of Zayn’s head.

“What time is it?” Liam asked when they finally made it back out to the living room and he picked up his dead phone.  Then he shook his head at his own forgetfulness before looking at his ever-present watch. “Nine o’clock.  You always get up this early on Sundays?”

“Alarm’s been set for nine since we met at the gym the other day.” Zayn shrugged when Liam looked at him. “Never unset it.”  He stood and stretched, scratching his stomach as he yawned loudly. “Don’t have to be at work for a couple of hours, yet. I usually roll out of bed and run.”

“Did you want to go to the gym, then?” Liam asked, hoping against hope that he didn’t; his muscles were still hurting from the day before.  Zayn shook his head, chuckling. “Thank goodness.”  He rubbed a hand over his hair. “You got coffee?”

“No, but Hazza’s does.” Zayn headed down the hall to his bedroom, thinking about changing clothes.

“Zee?” Zayn’s mouth quirked at the nickname. He’d hated when Loren called him that, but he liked hearing Liam say it. “Do you maybe have a shirt I can borrow?”

A few minutes later, a shirt hit Liam in the back of the head. He shook it out in front of him and smiled at the Captain America shield in the middle. He checked the size, noting it was a size smaller than he usually wore, but it looked like it should fit alright. He slipped the shirt over his head, smiling slightly at the fresh detergent smell on it, so different from the floral scent that Loren preferred. He was actually surprised the shirt didn’t smell of stale smoke, his mind going back to the giggly feeling of the night before.

He also remembered Zayn’s story.

He was having a hard time reconciling the Zayn in his tale from last night to the Zayn he had met earlier in the week.  The boy who blamed himself for his girlfriend’s infidelity and the man who didn’t put up with someone who cheated or treated him badly.  He wondered what happened when the boy finally left his bed, he can’t imagine that he went crawling back to Krasna.  He liked to picture him coming out from under the covers, strong and determined to move on with his life, without the woman who had hurt him so horribly.

Liam’s breath caught as his mind began pulling similarities, but he just shook his head, cursing the slight pain and forced himself to stop thinking that way. He knew that he would not be as strong as Zayn. He knew that he loved Loren too much to let her go. He had too much faith in them as a couple to give up after one mistake. No one was perfect, so why should he hold the woman he loves to an unfair ideal? No one was perfect. No one. He was convinced of that. Or maybe he was just trying to convince himself.

He picked up his phone, groaning when he remembered that it was, again, dead. He really needed to get a new phone.  He thought back to his texts with Zayn, remembering the blue, not green, bubbles.  “Hey, Zee?”

Zayn came out of the hallway, pulling a beanie over his messy hair, stopping when he saw Liam, looking at his phone.  Did he know that he’d looked at his texts the night before.  His breath caught and he choked out a “Yeah?”

“Do you have a cord? Phone’s dead again. Swear I need a new one. I spend more time charging and restoring this phone than I do using it.” Liam looked annoyed, but he was staring at the phone, not Zayn.

“Sure.” He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a cord and tossed it to Liam. “You want to wait while it charges or head to Hazza’s and see if Harry will let us use an outlet.”

Liam stood and pulled Zayn’s shirt over his head. “There’s an outlet near the couch, I saw someone using it the other day.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Zayn pulled on a pair of Doc Martens, sitting on the couch to tie them while Liam pulled his shoes on as well.

They walked out the door together, Liam waiting while Zayn locked up.  “Should we walk? I can come back for my car later.”

Zayn nodded. The two of them walked in silence, Zayn squinting against the sun and Liam still feeling a bit on the fuzzy side. When they reached Hazza’s, they both reached for the door, bumping hands and laughing. Liam shoved Zayn a bit and grabbed the door, holding it open and giving an exaggerated bow. “After you.”

“Such a gentleman,” Zayn drawled, darting out of the way of Liam’s smacking hands. He started to head towards the counter, but Liam stopped him.

“My turn,” he said, reaching in his pocket for his wallet. He laughed out loud when Zayn grabbed his wallet and danced up to the counter, sticking his tongue out and laughing.

Liam shook his head and walked over to their couch, dropping down and searching out the plug. Once his phone charged for a moment, it buzzed on and immediately started buzzing with missed text messages and calls from Loren.

[](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GC9f)

([text image](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GC9f))

Zayn was chatting with Harry at the counter when he heard the slightly anguished cry behind him.  The two of them turned to look at Liam who was holding his phone and looking utterly bewildered and a bit like someone had killed his cat; or rather turtle, Zayn corrected himself, remembering that Liam had turtles. He shared a look with Harry before hurrying over to the couch, leaving Harry to bring their order.  He dropped beside Liam, laying a hand on his shoulder. Liam startled and swung his arm out, knocking Zayn off the edge of the couch.  He hit Harry’s feet, sending the barista stumbling with their coffees and pastries.  

Thankfully the steaming liquid managed to miss all bare human skin and only soaked a few spots on Harry and Zayn’s shirts, the majority soaking into the rug on the floor. Liam jumped to his feet, staring down at the two on the floor, his face falling as he reached out and grasped each of them by an arm, yanking them to their feet. “I am so sorry.” He ran his hands over Harry and then Zayn, checking for coffee. “Are you alright? Did you get burned?” He looked at Harry. “Do you have a first aid kit?”

Zayn grabbed Liam’s hands, stopping him from lifting his shirt in the middle of the coffee shop.  “Li, we’re fine.” He looked at Harry, relieved when the other boy nodded. “Relax. It was an accident.”

Liam breathed a sigh of relief and then dove to the floor with napkins, trying to sop up the coffee that had already soaked into the rug. “I need more napkins.” He looked up at Harry before continuing on at a rapid pace, barely taking a breath. “Do you have a mop?” He pushed up onto just his knees, looking around him. “We should roll up this rug and then mop the floor. Then rinse out the rug somewhere. I can take it to be laundered.” He was starting to roll up the rug, when Zayn tackled him to the ground.

“STOP!” he shouted, drawing whatever attention hadn’t already been on the trio.

Harry settled on the ground next to the pair, patting Liam’s shoulder. “Mate, it’s alright. I spill stuff all the time. I will accept help rolling up the rug and putting it in the back, but everything else, I can take care of.”

Zayn looked down at Liam, his eyes were still a bit wild looking. “Breathe,” he told him.  Liam blinked. “In.” He inhaled and waited as Liam inhaled as well. “Out.” They breathed out together. “In. Out.” He kept repeating until Liam’s breathing was slowed down and his eyes looked a bit more focused.

Harry was back at their side, setting more coffee and pastries on the small table at the end of the sofa.  “If you two are done rolling around on my floor, do you think you could help me with the rug now?” His lips were set in a firm line, but his eyes were bright with mischief.  He really liked these two.

Liam looked up at Zayn hovering over him and both of their faces flushed as they scrambled to their feet, refusing to look at each other as they helped Harry roll the rug and then worked together to carry it into the back room behind Harry. Once the rug was placed against a wall and Harry had reassured Liam that it would be no problem to clean and he didn’t need to help him, the two boys returned to the sofa while Harry went behind the counter.

“Sorry again,” Liam muttered once they were settled, he was holding his phone, staring at the screen, his face still looking pale.

“You can stop apologizing. I shouldn’t have startled you like that.” He pointed to the phone, afraid to ask. “What’s going on?”

Liam tossed the phone to him.  “I guess while I was....” He waved his hand in the air, looking embarrassed to say it out loud. “I missed a bunch of messages from Loren.”  He shook his head. “She’s really upset.”  He jabbed a finger at the phone, forcing Zayn to look at it.  “I think she’s done with me.”

He read over the messages, flinching when he read the cruelty of her words, hearing them in her voice in his head. He couldn’t help but wonder if Loren being done with Liam would be the worst thing to happen. Looking at Liam with his face in his hands, he could tell that, to Liam, it would be the end of the world. He looked even more shattered than he had when they first met. “Call her,” he finally said, handing the phone back to him.

Liam lifted his head from his hands, his red-rimmed eyes cutting through Zayn. “What?”

“Call her. Right now.” Zayn scooted closer, putting the phone in Liam’s hand and pressing “call” on Loren’s contact. He lifted the phone in his hand to Liam’s ear and threw an arm over his shoulder, rubbing gently.

He felt Liam tense just as Loren’s voice snapped, “It’s about time. What’s your excuse this time?”

Liam didn’t say anything. He couldn’t think of anything except for Zayn’s hand on his shoulder. Loren’s voice was just an annoying buzz in his ear. He snapped when he heard her screech, “Liam James Payne, are you even listening to to me?”

“Y-yes,” he stuttered. “You were right, my phone died and I didn’t notice until this morning and then there was-”

“I don’t care,” she snapped.

“I’m s..” he sobbed, not able to get the word out and he felt Zayn’s arm tighten around him.

Loren listened to Liam crying on the other end of the phone and immediately felt guilty.  She was still upset about the suspension, but she knew that it really wasn’t Liam’s fault. She also knew that if he had just stood up for her, put her before his damn morals, then she wouldn’t have been suspended.  Despite that, she still hated when he cried.

“Look, just forget the texts. I was upset and a little bit drunk,” she spoke softly, forcing Liam to quiet his sobs to hear her speaking.

“Really?” he asked quietly and Zayn tilted his head to watch his face. Without thinking, he thumbed a tear from his cheek before it fell. Liam turned to stare at him, causing Zayn to blush. 

“Really, baby.  I’m sorry if I upset you, right? I was just worried you were off with Niall being naughty.” She was cooing at him and Liam shuddered a bit, hating to be talked to as if he were a four year old.

“Not with Niall, just forgot to charge my phone,” he mumbled, ignoring the ‘naughty’ comment, because, technically, he had been. “I really need to get a new one.”

“Won’t be able to right now, babe. You need to make up my share of the rent.” Her voice was soft, but he heard the blame there still. He also heard the unspoken _“Or you could just ask your parents,”_ but chose to ignore it.

“Right,” he said.  He sat quiet on the phone, feeling Zayn’s eyes on him, wondering what the other boy was thinking. He turned to look at him again, fully expecting to be met with judgy eyes, surprised when all he saw was concern.

Zayn stared into Liam’s eyes, searching, trying to figure out what was going on in the conversation.  He could hear the volume of Loren’s voice rising and falling and detected her babytalk coo, shaking his head at that.  He could sense Liam being drawn back in and it hurt his heart. He loosened his hold on Liam, moving his hand to his back to rub gently, sliding a bit further away from him on the sofa.

“I’m going to let you go. Please keep your phone charged, babe. You don’t want to worry me, do you? I might think you were seeing someone else, like that little tramp Ella.” She tried to make her voice sound light, but Liam knew she wasn’t teasing. “I’ll see you tomorrow night, unless I stay at Erin’s. She’s having problems with her boyfriend. I’ll definitely be home before class on Tuesday.”

Liam grasped onto the word ‘home’.  “So you are coming back then?” His voice was hopeful and his eyes wide, surprised, when Zayn pushed his way off the couch and escaped towards the loo.

“Of course, baby, you need me too much. Bye bye.”

“I love you, Loren,” he whispered, but she’d already hung up.

Liam pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it for a moment, looking up when he felt Zayn sitting down on the other end of the sofa.  “Thanks,” he muttered.

Zayn shrugged and lifted one of the mugs to his mouth, taking a drink. “Everything good?”

“I wouldn’t say good, but they aren’t bad anymore,” Liam responded, reaching around Zayn to get the other mug.

“Good. The opposite of bad is good,” Zayn responded, trying not to lean into Liam for the brief moment he was close.  He started wondering what would happen when Loren came back. Would Liam still want to hang out with him? Would he turn his back on him like he never existed? He wasn’t even sure what to call his relationship with Liam, were they friends, or simply a support group of two?

Liam was drinking the coffee slowly, but his eyes were unfocused, reminding Zayn slightly of the night before.  This time, he looked unhappy instead of giggly.  He sighed and Liam’s eyes flicked up to his.

“Alright, mate?” he asked, watching Zayn carefully.  He thought the other boy looked a bit distracted, sad even, like he wanted to be anywhere except seated next to Liam on the sofa.  He couldn’t explain why that made him sad.

“Yeah, I’m good.”

They sat in silence, an uncomfortable silence, for a few minutes before Liam cleared his throat, remembering something. “So, what happened with Krasna?”  Zayn blinked at him, brow furrowed. “You were telling me last night that after three days in bed, you decided it was all your fault.”

“You remember that, eh?  Thought you were too far gone by that point.” Zayn wasn’t sure if he  still wanted to finish the story.  Liam seemed content to be with Loren; who was he to stand in his way? In hindsight, he wished someone had stopped him from giving Krasna multiple chances to stomp on his heart, so maybe he should suck it up and tell him.

Liam covered his face, peeking between his fingers. “It’s probably the last thing I do remember.”  He dropped his hands. “Was I really bad?”

“Nah, man.  You were fine. You feel alright today, yeah?”  Liam nodded. “Do you really want to hear the rest?” Another nod and Zayn sighed deeply. “So, three days in bed.  I got up and immediately headed to Krasna’s flat.  She was home alone, her roommates all gone home for the weekend. I had a bouquet of flowers in my hands and an apology on my lips.”

“Flowers are always good,” Liam muttered, thinking of the bouquet he’d bought Loren when the ring had gone missing.  

“They seemed to work,” Zayn said. “She took the flowers and kissed me. I wanted to spend the day with her, but she was heading home to visit her mother.” He hesitated to tell Liam what he’d later found out, but realized that holding anything back wouldn’t do either one of them any good. “She had her other guy in her bedroom.  She couldn’t get me out of the flat fast enough.” Liam is the first person he’d shared this bit of the story with and was surprised by the relief he felt from finally telling someone.

“How did you….”

“Her roommate, Jake, told me later.  After the second time I caught her cheating.” He remembered the sinking feeling in his stomach when Jake had told him, the two of them standing on the stoop outside the building. He remembered how awful he’d felt as he climbed the stairs to her flat. How much he’d wanted to throw himself in front of the first available bus and get rid of the feeling of letting Krasna down by not being enough.

“The second time?”

“It might have been the third time.” Liam’s eyes grew wide. “Definitely not the fourth, the fourth time she wasn’t even home when I went to her flat to apologize.”

“You went to apologize?”

Zayn nodded. “It had to be me, right? I mean, she was perfect and beautiful and I loved her, so it had to be my fault that she strayed.” He shook his head when Liam started to speak, knowing he had to get the rest of the story out. “So, the fourth time, she wasn’t in, but Jake was; he was always the one who seemed to like me best.  He let me in and said I could wait.”

Zayn told Liam the story as he remembered sitting on the couch, looking at Jake watching him carefully.  He kept asking if Zayn needed anything and kept moving things from one piece of furniture to another.  After about ten minutes of this, Zayn finally asked Jake if there was anything wrong.  “Why are you here?”

Zayn had shrugged. “I have to apologize.”

“For?”

Zayn stared at Jake. “For not being enough.”

“You’ve done that how many times now?” Zayn shrugged. “How’s it working out for you?”

It was then, those words, that got through to Zayn. He realized what he was doing to himself, how much of himself he was losing every time he came here to apologize, to beg Krasna to give him another chance.  All of these chances that he was actually giving to her and having them thrown back in his face.  He looked up at Jake who was giving him a sad smile.

“Thanks, mate,” he told Jake, hugging him close.

He came back to the present and Liam’s disbelieving face as the alarm on his phone went off. “Shit, mate, I’ve got to get home and change for work. I’m sorry.” He jumped to his feet and raced out the door, surprised when he heard Liam’s pounding footsteps behind him.

“My car is at your flat,” he explained. “I’ll drive you to work, it’ll save you some time.” He jogged easily by Zayn’s side.

“Thanks.”

They hurried back and Liam waited in the car while Zayn went to change, his mind going over what he’d told him over and over again. His mind was reeling and his head hurt. He was rubbing his temples when Zayn slid into the car next to him.  “Alright?”

“Just a bit of a headache. Good thing the club is closed today,” he told Zayn. “I don’t think I could work if I tried.” Zayn looked really concerned. “I don’t think it was the weed, mate, don’t worry.”

Zayn hadn’t been worried about that, well, not completely worried, but he knew the headache was still his fault. He knew Liam was a go-with-the-flow kind of guy and he’d given him way too much flow fighting things to think about in the last twenty-four hours.  He sighed and started to open his mouth when he realized they were outside the art store.

“Thanks, mate,” he said as he climbed out. “See you later?”

Liam shook his head. “I think I’m just going to go home and crash.” He felt bad when he saw Zayn’s face fall.  “Gym tomorrow, though?”  Zayn gave him a big grin and a nod as he closed the door and raced into the store.

Liam drove home and let himself into the flat.  He stopped in the bathroom long enough to take some paracetamol and drop his jeans on the floor.  He fell facedown onto his pillow on the bed, wearing just his briefs and Zayn’s t-shirt.  Sleep took over quickly.

 

 

 


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise!!! I'm updating a day early because my weekend is going to be crazy busy and I know I won't have time to update on Friday and I didn't want to leave anyone hanging until Tuesday, especially not after my last author's note. Speaking of that, I just want to thank those of you who reached out to me, it really means a lot. Things are still pretty bad for me emotionally, but I'm trying to work through it with good music and good friends. Tonight is my weekly night out, so I will also be trying to work through it with copious amounts of alcohol.
> 
> So, I like this chapter. We get to meet more people in the boys' lives and I just enjoyed writing it. I hope you enjoy reading it.
> 
> [My Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/JolynnMG) or [my Tumblr](http://josjournal.tumblr.com/) are great places to come say, "hi". I've gotten a few very sweet anonymous messages on tumblr (don't be shy) and I've gotten to meet a really cool girl on Twitter because of this story. So, please, please, come drop me a line. I do love "meeting" new people.
> 
> Thank you to Jess for hurrying the beta, while on vacation, just so I could get this up before my crazy weekend. I love you so much, girl. You just don't understand.
> 
> As always: don't know 'em, don't own 'em, don't show 'em.

Liam rolled over with a groan; his head was still achy and he rubbed at his eyes.  He heard his phone going off.  Reaching over the side of his bed, he pulled his jeans up next to him so he could dig out his phone. He smiled when he saw his dad’s face looking back at him. He hit the accept button and laughed as he found himself staring at the ceiling of his father’s home office.

“Dad, you can’t Facetime me and leave me sitting on the desk.”

His father’s face appeared suddenly. “I did it again, didn’t I?”  Liam nodded, still chuckling as his dad adjusted the phone and made a face at him.  “Did I wake you?”

“Was just taking a rest. Late night,” he mumbled, rubbing a hand over his face and scratching at the stubble on his chin.

“I don’t want to hear about it. I know you were off last night and I also know about Loren’s suspension.” His dad had his “serious” face on, which was never good. “You know it’s not the first time she’s picked a fight with one of the other girls.”

“I know, dad.”

“If it happens again…”

“I know, dad. Three strikes and you’re out.” He shook his head.  Liam knew that  if something else happened, Loren would expect him to ask his dad to overlook it.  Unfortunately, he also knew that, even if he did ask, and even if his dad did like Loren, he wouldn’t bend the rules.

“I’m sorry, son.  I just have to make sure-”

“I know. You have to make sure I understand the rules because one day I’ll be running the clubs, and without the strict rules our clubs would be no different from the seedy places that we compete against.” Liam let out a sigh. He loved his dad and he couldn’t be prouder of how far his dad brought the club. He remembered when his mom and dad invested in the first one together, everyone thought it was so cool that his parents owned a strip club.  Within five years, they had opened six more clubs in four cities.  

When Niall had moved to uni and his parents opened another club in the same city, Liam decided to move with him. He knew he wasn’t cut out for uni, having always struggled in school.  So, he decided it was time for him to start learning the business he would one day, hopefully, be taking over from his father.  He started as a dishwasher and worked his way up to security.  He knew one day he would be in charge of all of the clubs and he looked forward to it.

“Son, are you sure you’re alright?” his father asked, his face changing to one of concern.  “You look really rough.” His father leaned closer to the screen, eyes squinting as Liam leaned further away from the phone.

“Dad, Loren cheated on me.” The words burst out before he could stop them.  His father’s eyes widened, but he kept quiet, waiting for Liam to continue.  “It was this guy at the Uni. His name is Zayn and he’s really a great guy.  He’s studying art. He works at an art store on the weekends and he adores Ella!”

His dad chuckled. “So...are you jealous of him or her?”

That stopped Liam in his tracks. “What?”

“Are you upset that she cheated _on_ you or that she cheated _with_ him?” His dad was always straight forward, never beating around the bush. 

“Dad, I’m…it’s not...I mean...what?”

“Alight, alright.  Just asking, you seem to know an awful lot about the guy that your fiance cheated on you with.”

Liam felt his face flush. He launched into the whole story, starting from the missing ring and ending with Zayn telling him about Krasna. He left out the getting high, but other than that, he was absolutely honest with his dad, who was probably the person he was closest to, apart from Niall. “So, I guess he’s my friend now, right?”

“I would definitely say the two of you are friends.” He shook his head, chuckling. “I don’t know why I’m surprised that someone like you, with the biggest heart I’ve ever seen, made friends with the man his fiance cheated with.” Liam flinched when his father repeated the phrase, almost like he was trying to make a point. After a minute, his dad's face turned sad. “You forgave her, didn’t you?” His father was usually pretty good at hiding his feelings about Loren, but right now it was clear that forgiving Loren was something that he hoped Liam hadn’t done.

“I don’t know. I've stayed with her. I didn’t even tell her I knew. I mean, I just snuck the ring back into her bag like a coward.” He shrugged. “I still don’t know if I’ve actually forgiven her. Every time she isn’t around, I can’t help wondering if she’s with Zayn or with some other guy.  I don’t even know if it was just Zayn or if he was just one and she was juggling a lot of us.” Liam grabbed at his hair and tugged.

“All questions that you may never know the answer to, son. Even if you confront her, which I have a hard time seeing you doing, you may not get the truth.” His dad looked thoughtful.  “The only way I can see you confronting her is if she pushed you too far.  I’m actually surprised you didn’t say anything when she hurt Ella.”

Liam had the decency to blush at that, knowing that he should’ve done more to defend Ella, to make Loren apologize, anything. Then again, she had run out of town before he really had the chance. He knew Ella didn’t hold it against him, but he still felt guilty.

“Whether or not you get the answers you're looking for, you really should at least seek them; if only for your own peace of mind,” his dad continued, eyes soft with affection and concern.

He knew his dad was right, he just wasn’t sure what exactly the questions were and when was going to be the right time to ask them.  He talked with his father for a few more minutes before stuttering around a jaw cracking yawn.  

“Guess it’s time to let you get some more sleep, innit?” Geoff asked, chuckling as Liam shrugged his shoulders and grinned sheepishly.  “Just remember, your mum and I are here for you if you ever need anything.”

“I know, dad.  Speaking of which...with the suspension, rent might be…”

Geoff waved his hands, laughing. “I’ve told you before that you don’t even have to pay rent. One of the perks of your parents owning the building that you live in.”

“I know that, I just-”

“You just want to prove you’re a responsible adult and you do, every single day.  It’s not your maturity that I’m worried about.” He gave Liam a meaningful look. “Consider this month’s rent paid in full, alright? In fact, consider next month’s as well.  Put aside the rent money for yourself.  Take a trip. You and Niall have a boy’s weekend or something, yeah? It’s long overdue.”

Liam snorted, knowing how well that plan would go over with Loren, but he just gave his dad a smile. “Sure thing. Thanks. Love you, Dad.”

“Love you, too, son.”

The call ended and Liam glanced at his phone, groaning when he saw that the battery was nearly dead again. Clawing through the drawer next to the bed, he pulled out one of the many chargers he had bought and was always losing. Plugging the phone in, he shot a quick text to Loren asking when she thought she would be home.  He was asleep again before the phone chimed with a returned text.

***

Zayn stood behind the counter at the art store, pencil moving mindlessly over the back of the flyer he’d pulled off the bulletin board earlier.  Sundays at the shop always started off horribly slow, but he knew things would pick up later when students came rushing in for last minute supplies for projects due the next day.  He heard the bell above the door, looking up with a fabricated smile, which became a real one when he saw who it was.

“Louis!” he shouted and his mate laughed. “Taking up a new hobby?” He greeted Louis the same way every time he ventured into the shop, knowing Louis drew about as well as a toddler.

“Nah, just haven’t seen my best mate in a few days. Was thinking I could hang up some missing flyers on your bulletin board.”

Zayn shook his head. “No one wants to see his ugly mug hanging around. Nice of you to stop by though.” Louis stopped by every Sunday, so he wasn’t entirely surprised to see his friend, but he did feel a little guilty for not being around much the last couple of days.

“Seriously though, I wanted to make sure Loren’s caveman fiancé hadn’t killed you.” He hopped up on the counter, pointedly ignoring Zayn’s dirty look.

“Liam’s not a caveman,” Zayn responded, grabbing for the flyer as Louis pulled it away.

“He’s not a superhero, either.”

“I know that!” Zayn snapped, grabbing the paper and sliding it under the counter.  “It’s Batman!” He knew Louis could see that, but he was pretty sure that Louis hadn’t seen Liam enough to recognize that the picture favoured him around the eyes and mouth.

Louis swung his heels against the counter. The sound echoed and Zayn shoved him off, laughing as Louis sprawled on the floor with a yelp. “Wanker,” he muttered, glaring up at him.

“Hello, Louis,” Zayn’s boss said as he walked up to the front of the store.  He’d heard the commotion from the back office and knew their weekly visitor had arrived.

“Xander!” Louis greeted from the floor.  “Ready to hire me, yet?”

The older man scoffed, running a hand through his graying hair before offering it to Louis and helping the lad to his feet.  “I think not, but I will allow you to go fetch us lunch.”

“You buying?” Louis asked.

“Might do,” he said, smiling and laughing as he threw an arm around the boy’s shoulders, the two of them facing Zayn, who shook his head fondly at them.

“You can’t keep bribing him to do your bidding with food.”

“He’s cheaper than delivery.” Xander said with a shrug.  He reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out some notes.  “Why don't you see what that new coffee shop has to offer.” Louis took the money and winked at Zayn, knowing his friend was familiar with the place.

“Hazza’s?” Xander nodded.

Zayn grinned. “Good coffee and pastries.  Haven’t tried anything else yet. The owner, Harry, is ace though. If he’s there, tell him I said ‘hi’.”

“Does he wear a name tag or should I just stroll in and yell, ‘Harry, Zayn says hi!’?” Louis asked.

“Tall, thin bloke. Crazy curly hair. Tattoos. Dimples.” He gave Louis a look. “Your type, actually.” Except Zayn wasn’t sure if Harry was into guys; however, he did know something that would interest Louis even more. “Plus, I heard he’s looking for some help.”

“A job?!” Louis squeaked as he ran for the door, everything forgotten except the prospect of employment.

Xander looked after him, chuckling. “Heaven help Harry,” he muttered before turning a fatherly smile on Zayn.  “How have you been?” Zayn gave a noncommittal shrug.  He liked Xander; he didn’t force him to talk if he wasn’t feeling up to it. The man had always been good to him: creating extra jobs and hours if money was tight, fronting him on art supplies or giving him items that were returned in less than perfect condition. “How is the lovely Miss Loren?”

Zayn froze. He’d forgotten that his boss had met Loren one day when she’d come to the store to see him.  “We broke up,” he said simply, ducking down behind the counter so his face was hidden.  He rubbed at his eyes, cursing when they came away wet. This was really the first time he’d talked about the breakup with someone other than Liam; he was finding it harder to hide the hurt when he didn’t feel like he had to be strong for someone else. Xander was someone he didn’t have to pretend around, but that didn’t mean he wanted to sob all over the other man, either.

He felt Xander leaning over the counter and looking down at him. “Sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry for. Found out she was engaged.  Been with the guy a couple of years. I was just a toy.” Zayn still refused to look up, shuffling around so he was sitting on the floor, his back against the counter.  He hated knowing that his eyes were turning red, could already feel the soft skin beneath them swelling. He hated crying, especially in front of other people. “I was such a fool.”

“I really thought she loved you.  I’m a hard one to pull one over on, so don’t feel too badly about it. You cared about her, it makes you a bit blind.” Zayn felt Xander’s hand brush over his hair gently.  “Everything will be alright. There are plent-”

Zayn started to chuckle. “Don’t start spouting platitudes at me, old man.” He ducked his head when Xander’s petting turned into a swat.

“Don’t you sass me.  You’ve been spending too much time with Louis.” Zayn looked up, his eyes still wet, but a smile on his face.

“Thanks, Xan.”

“Anytime, lad. You know I am always here. How about if I take front counter today and you go rearrange the storeroom for a little while?”  

Zayn pushed himself to his feet, relieved that he was being given the chance to get himself together before customers started coming in.  He really was thankful for the people in his life, even those that caused him pain.  He knew enough to know that you didn’t grow flowers without a little bit of dirt.  

 

 

 

 


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Tuesday!
> 
> With all the drama in the fandom today, I considered not posting and then I thought, "Screw it," so here I am with Chapter Twelve. This means we are really over halfway through the story and I hope I haven't lost anyone yet. I really like this chapter and my beta seemed pleased with it as well. Since Jess is an amazing writer herself ([purpleeyestelllies](http://archiveofourown.org/users/purpleeyestelllies/pseuds/purpleeyestelllies)), I take it very seriously when she likes something I've written.
> 
> Please...please...please (and I swore I'd never beg), come talk to me on [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/JolynnMG) or [Tumblr](http://josjournal.tumblr.com). I really want to talk to people! :D
> 
> As always, don't know 'em, don't own 'em, don't show 'em.

Liam woke again when his phone went off with a text notification. He was hoping that it was Loren, but was just as glad to see it was Niall, who wanted to go out for pints.  He shook his head fondly at his friend as he texted back to give him a half hour.  He saw there was a missed text from Loren saying she would probably be back late Monday night. He texted back a thumbs up emoji out of habit, forgetting that emojis really annoyed her. He crawled off the bed, stripping out of his, well Zayn’s, t-shirt and boxers, dropping them both on the bed before heading into the bathroom to take a quick shower.

Once he was out, he threw on the first clothes he laid hands on, but was still barefoot when he heard Niall knocking on the front door. He opened the door for him before returning to his room to find a pair of socks and pull a pair of his favourite trainers out of the closet.  “Any special reason we’re going out on a Sunday night, mate?” he asked, his voice muffled by the clothing hanging in the closet.

“Liam, come out of the closet and repeat that.” Niall snickered at his own joke. Liam had come out as bi-sexual to everyone when he was, like, fifteen years old.  Niall still liked to take the piss out of him every chance he got, though.

“Very funny, Nialler.”  He squeezed his feet into his shoes and then sat on the edge of the bed to tie them. “Any special reason we’re going out?”

“Celebrating. Mr. Spark...Zayn’s mate, Louis, got a job!”  Liam raised an eyebrow at Niall. “Lou texted me earlier and I’m thinking he invited half the planet if the responses to the group text are any indication. Must be excited.”

Liam finished tying his shoes. “Ace, a big party.  My favourite thing in the world.” His voice dripped with sarcasm and Niall smacked him upside the head, upsetting the snapback Liam had just settled there.

“Zayn’ll be there.”

Liam had to admit that he perked up at the idea of Zayn being there; he’d felt like their morning had ended abruptly. Maybe they could continue talking, although maybe they should just drink. A lot.  He gave a shrug. “And that would matter to me because?”

“You two can commiserate or something.”

Liam just smacked Niall in the arm and headed out the door with him, quickly walking down the street, neither of them wanting to drive. This way they could take the Addison Lee home and not worry about how to get their cars back the next morning. When they reached the pub and opened the door, the noise spilled into the street and Liam gave Niall a nervous look, this place was never this busy on a Sunday.

Niall shook his head and grabbed Liam by the arm pulling him inside.  “Niall!!!!!!” Louis’ voice rang out and the two boys pushed themselves through the crowd in the direction it had come from.  They both laughed when they found Louis sitting on top of the seat of the corner booth, looking like a prince holding court.  Sitting on each side of him were Zayn and, “Harry?” Liam asked.

“Liam. Liam. Liam!!!” It was abundantly clear that Louis was already well pissed.  “This is my new boss, Harold!” He patted Harry on top of the head, causing the lad to flinch and mutter, “My name’s not Harold,” which Louis pointedly ignored.

Zayn grinned up at Liam when his eyes finally fell on him.  “Leeyum,” he drawled out, his voice thick with the slur of many pints. Liam leaned closer and looked at his eyes, deciding a spliff or two probably added to the effect.

Zayn took advantage of Liam’s closer proximity and stole the snapback off his head and settled it over his own quiff before reaching out and running a hand through Liam’s hair, messing it up even more before using his grip to pull Liam to sit next to him in the booth. “Bed hair day,” he mumbled. Liam was stunned and blushed when the other three boys started laughing at the look on his face.

“Guess I’ll take a seat then,” Liam joked and Louis reached past Zayn to smack him on the head.  “Would people please stop hitting me in the head?” Niall gave him one more swat before settling on the other end of the booth next to Harry, introducing himself and making fast friends.

Zayn kneeled on the seat and wrapped his arms around Liam’s head, forcing Liam’s nose into his chest. “Leave Leeyum alone, Lewis! He doesn’t like it! You’re upsetting him.” Zayn’s arms grew tighter around Liam’s head with each sentence.

Liam forced Zayn’s arms out from around him and held his wrists when he went to engulf him again. “I need to breathe, Zee.”

Zayn giggled and turned, leaning his head on Liam’s shoulder. “Harry hired Louis.  Care to make a wager on how soon the place burns to the ground?” His head wobbled and he started sliding in the booth.

Liam wrapped an arm around Zayn’s shoulder to keep him from slipping underneath the table.  He looked up when Niall set another round of shots on the table.  Zayn smacked the table top and reached for the glass, Liam stopping him with a hand on his wrist. “Are you sure?”

Zayn looked at him. “I’m fine, Daddy, don’t worry about me.” He sat up straighter and downed his shot. He then grabbed and downed Liam’s shot, giving him a defiant look.

“Trying to prove something to your boy?” Harry asked across the table.  “Don’t know if he’s going to be wanting to hold your hair back tonight.”

“Not m’boy,” Zayn muttered, crawling over the table, falling off the other side to the floor.  Jumping to his feet, he threw his arms out and gave a bow like he’d intended to the hit the floor all along.  Once Louis’ applause died down, Zayn shot Liam a dirty look and disappeared into the crowd.  Liam watched his snapback move towards the door of the pub.

The other three boys turned to look at Liam. “What?” They turned in unison to look in the direction Zayn had just disappeared. “What?”

“Aren’t you going to-” Niall started to ask.

“Go after him?” Louis finished and smiled when Niall let out a guffaw, slapping him on the knee, nearly elbowing Harry in the face.

Liam looked down at his hands. Then he looked up at the door. Then back down to his hands. The door. The boys. “Should I?”

Louis slid off the back of the booth to settle next to Liam. “Look, Caveman, he’s a good guy. He’s had a long day. He needs his friends.”

“He was fine this morning.  Besides, you’re his friend. I’m just-”

Louis shook his head, cutting Liam off with a laugh. “If you honestly think you’re not his friend, you haven’t been paying attention.  Now go. This is my party and I can’t leave.  It would break poor Harold’s heart!”

Harry shook his head, wondering already what he’d gotten himself into by hiring Louis, but then Louis stood on the seat, his back to him, and he remembered exactly what he was hoping to get himself into.  Niall noticed the curly haired lad’s gaze and sudden flush to his cheeks.  He laughed to himself; everybody was hooking up around him.  He should be jealous, but he really just wanted everyone happy.

Liam started to slide out of the booth, stopping when Louis laid a hand on his arm. “If he’s crying again, don’t mention it, yeah?”

He furrowed his brow together. Why would Zayn be crying? Liam was completely confused as he finally pushed himself away from the booth, leaving a frightened looking Harry between his and Zayn’s best mates.  He shook his head as Louis climbed back on top of the booth, shouting to the bartender for more drinks. He and Zayn were so different, he couldn’t figure out why they were friends.  Then again, he looked at Niall who was trying to climb on top of the table, being stopped by Harry, and he realized that being friends didn’t mean being exactly the same.

The door to the pub closed behind him, blocking out the noise from inside. At first he didn’t see Zayn, but he heard the snick of a lighter and saw smoke coming from around the corner of the pub.  He walked around and nearly tripped over the other lad, who was sitting leaned against the wall.  His forehead rested on his knees that were pulled up to his chest.

“Zee?” He heard a snort, so he thought it might be safe to settle down next to him, leaning against the wall as well. “Alright?”

Zayn looked up as he took a drag, his stare resolutely on a brick of the building across from them.  Liam could see his eyes were red-rimmed, but he wasn’t sure if it was from the pot or from crying. That uncertainty coupled with Louis’ words made him hold back from asking what was wrong.  

“I’m sorry,” he said instead. “I know I can be a bit of a mother hen.”  Liam shrugged.  He was always the one looking out for everyone, always had been.  Even growing up, while being bullied, he made sure that everyone else was alright before he even considered thinking about himself.

“Shouldn’t have snapped,” Zayn answered, still not looking at him as he inhaled deeply again before exhaling away from Liam.  “Long day.”

“Louis mentioned that. You seemed okay this morning. Something happen at work?” He reached over and took the cigarette from Zayn, inhaling before sliding it back between the other boy’s fingers.  He gave himself a mental high five when the corners of Zayn’s lips quirked up for a split second.

“You don’t want to talk about it, trust me.”  Zayn pulled out two more smokes, lighting them off the current one before smashing it out. He handed one of the two to Liam, who had watched the whole maneuver quietly.

“Why not? You listen to me all the time. You’ve put up with more freak-outs in less than a week than I think anyone else, other than my parents, has in my entire life.”  The two quietly smoked, Liam forcing himself to be still and patient when all he wanted to do was shake Zayn to get him to talk to him.

“How’s Loren been? Since you found out about me?” he asked, his voice scratchy, his eyes closed, but Liam detected a bit of dampness on his lashes.

“Seriously?”

“You wanted to know.”

“She’s been...she’s been Loren.” He thought back over the week, but couldn’t really pick up on anything out of the ordinary, except for the night she came home unexpectedly.  He glanced over at Zayn. “Has she been to see you since that first night?”

Zayn let his head thunk back against the wall and Liam winced in sympathy, watching the snapback bounce up so it wasn’t really sitting on Zayn’s head anymore. “Louis said she stopped by one night, around two a.m.  I was asleep.  He chased her away.”

“She came home,” Liam whispered. “Would you have let her in?” He was genuinely curious, this was the first time Zayn had showed any sign of anything other than anger towards Loren. He knew he should feel guilty for doing it, but he intended to take advantage of the fact that, for the first time around him, Zayn’s defenses were completely down.

“I like to think I would’ve told her to hit the road, but…” he trailed off before turning to look at Liam and the other boy was shocked by just how wrecked he looked.  “I miss her.”

“W..what?” Liam stuttered out.

Zayn’s eyes flared angry for a second, but then he just kind of collapsed into himself, the snapback falling loosely back into place. “You think you’re the only one this has been hard for, don’t you? You aren’t the only one who’s heart was broken, mate. I may not have loved her as long, but I still loved her.”  He shook himself.  “Louis always accuses me of falling too fast.”  He leaned onto Liam’s shoulder with a sigh. “He’s probably right.”

Liam didn’t hesitate before wrapping his arm around Zayn and hugging him to his side.  He was still trying to come up with what to say, for no other reason than pure surprise.  Zayn had been playing so strong, he honestly had never considered that Loren had broken his heart as well.  

“And now, you’re saying she’s fine, so that means I wasn’t nearly as important to her as she was to me.” He sniffled before rubbing his wet cheek against Liam’s shoulder and burying his nose in his neck.

Liam almost giggled at Zayn’s cold nose and warm breath on his neck, but he kept his straight face in honour of the severity of the conversation. “Well, she did get suspended from work for fighting.” Zayn made a disbelieving sound into his neck. “She walked in and saw Ella hugging me and lunged at her…”

Zayn’s head snapped up and his eyes looked fierce. “Is Ella alright?” Liam proceeded to tell him the story and Zayn even managed a small smile before leaning into Liam’s shoulder again.  “She’s always accusing me of cheating on her or wanting to cheat on her.” He shook his head. “I’m starting to think it’s a guilty conscience.”

“Do you think…” Zayn started, but stopped. Liam moved his shoulder up, jostling his head, urging him to continue. “Do you think it was just us?”

Liam didn’t have to ask what he meant, he’d been finding himself wondering the same thing more and more often, especially since talking to his dad. “I don’t know.” His sigh was deep and Zayn’s head nearly slipped off his shoulder.

They sat there for awhile longer, Zayn’s head growing heavier on Liam’s shoulder.  It didn’t take long before soft snores were coming from the older boy and Liam chuckled.  He held Zayn upright as he pushed himself to his feet before pulling Zayn to stand as well.  With one arm wrapped around the other boy’s waist, he used the other hand to gently rub his cheek until his hazel eyes blinked at him, pupils still blown and white’s slightly red.

“Gonna take you home now, yeah?” Zayn nodded, pressing his face further into Liam’s neck.  “Let me just text the others and let them know we’re leaving.”  He sent a quick text off to Niall and didn’t wait for a response before moving slowly along the sidewalk towards his flat.  

It took twice as long to get to Liam’s car, parked outside his flat, as it had to walk to the pub with Niall, but that was because he was practically dragging Zayn.  He debated just letting Zayn crash at his place, but he didn’t want to risk Loren coming back unexpectedly finding her ex-lover on their couch. He really didn’t know how he would explain that situation.  With a sigh, he wrestled Zayn into the front seat and buckled his safety belt before moving around to the other side and sliding behind the wheel.

“Zee?” he asked quietly, then again louder when the boy didn’t respond.  

“Mmvhgadhn?” he muttered, his head lolling on the seat until he was facing Liam, eyes only slightly cracked.

“You have keys to your flat, right?”

Zayn attempted to put his hand in his coat pocket a few times, but kept missing. Finally, Liam reached over and into the pocket, retrieving the keys.  “Are you going to be alright if I drop you at your place?” Zayn was already snoring again, so Liam started the car and drove carefully to the other side of the campus.  He was thankful to find a spot not far from Zayn’s.

They were about halfway up the stairs when Liam gave up and scooped Zayn into his arms, chuckling when Zayn snuggled into his shoulder.  He managed to get the door unlocked without jostling Zayn too much.  He carried him to his bedroom and set him on the bed, making quick work of Zayn’s shoes and jeans, not wanting the boy to be uncomfortable. He also managed to pull his jacket off.  He pulled the covers up over him, pushed his hair out of his face, smiling at him fondly.

He moved to leave when Zayn made a sound, looking back down at him, he noted the boy was muttering, but still asleep. He bent down closer and heard a quiet, “Leeyum,” slip through his lips.  Pressing a kiss to Zayn’s forehead, a bit slower than the one at the art store the day before, he whispered, “Good night, Zee. I’ll call and check on you tomorrow.” He couldn’t keep the small smile from quirking his lips as he brushed the boy’s hair back before giving into the urge and landing another small kiss, this one on his cheek.

Liam walked out of the bedroom with just one quick glance over his shoulder at the sleeping boy and a shake of his head when he thought about just crawling into the bed with him.  He was really too fond of this boy who was in love with his fiancée.  He was surprised to find Louis walking into the flat as he exited the bedroom.

“He alright?” Liam nodded.  “Good. We were worried when you two disappeared and Zayn had left his phone on the table.  Niall didn’t see your text until we were leaving.”

“You’re a good friend, Lou,” Liam told him and headed to the door, holding out Zayn’s keys as he passed, stopping when he felt Louis grasp his wrist.

“He’s a good guy, Liam.  He never-”

Liam cut him off. “I know. I know.”  He looked at Louis, trying to judge how drunk the other boy still was and how honest of an answer he could get out of him. “Zee really loves her, doesn’t he?”

Louis snorted and it sounded like he muttered, “Zee,” under his breath. “He falls in love so quickly.” He glanced towards the bedroom door and back at Liam, his face turning sad. “Too quickly.”  Liam just gave him a confused look before saying a quick good night and heading towards the door.

He drove back to his flat, letting himself in, ignoring the light switches. He stumbled through the flat and into his room before falling onto his bed. He felt around in the bed until he found the shirt and shorts he’d thrown there earlier and changing into them.  He was asleep shortly after he’d settled under the blankets, his mind still on Louis and Zayn both telling Liam that Zayn falls in love too quickly and what exactly they’d meant by that.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So....did anyone catch my reference to this iconic Instagram post by our lovely Liam Payne?
> 
>  
> 
> [](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GCFc)


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, over halfway there and with this chapter, the roller coaster begins. I'm sorry.
> 
> Feel free to contact me on [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/JolynnMG) or [Tumblr](http://josjournal.tumblr.com).
> 
> Thanks to my beautiful beta and absolute bestie, Jess. Without her, I and this story am nothing.
> 
> As always, don't know 'em, don't own 'em, don't show 'em.

Loren opened the door to the flat quietly at just after seven in the morning and she was yawning loudly. She’d left her mother’s early, after the art professor had called to see if she could come in and pose for today’s classes because the scheduled model had called in sick.  She still had a couple of hours until she had to be there, but she couldn’t complain; it was a good amount of money for three class periods worth of work.  

She listened as she closed the door behind her, but didn’t hear any noise from inside the flat.  She hung her coat up and picked Liam’s jacket up off the floor where it must have fallen.  She shook her head fondly as she sifted through the mail sitting on the table where she laid her keys. There were several bills, but she just tossed them to the side, they were Liam’s problem this month.

She slipped her shoes off and walked towards the bedroom, noticing Liam lying curled around his pillow, face half buried, snuffling noises carrying towards her.  She glanced at her phone, noting the time and decided she had time for a quick cuddle before she had to shower and head for the campus. She crawled into her side of the bed, curling up behind Liam and pressing a kiss to the back of his neck, she inhaled deeply, expecting the smell of sleepy sweat, but instead she smelled a bit of smoke and a soft detergent smell that was familiar, but not Liam.  In fact, she pressed her nose against Liam’s shirt and inhaled deeply, the scent of detergent, but not smoke, stronger on the shirt than his skin.

 _Zayn._ The detergent smelled like the one Zayn used. She shook her head, convincing herself she was losing her mind.  Why would Liam smell like Zayn? She sniffed the shirt again, tears welling in her eyes a bit as she thought of the dark haired lad she hadn’t spoken to in nearly a week.  She was wiping at her eyes when Liam rolled over and looked at her, eyes blinking slowly.

“Loren?” his voice cracked out.  “What time is it?”  He pushed himself up on his elbows, the blanket falling to his waist, revealing the Captain America shield on his shirt.

_Marvel._ Liam didn’t have Marvel things. He loved DC comics. She remembered listening to him go on and on about the stupid things for hours until she could recite the different heroes in her sleep. Captain America was Marvel. Liam was DC.  Zayn was Marvel. She shook her head. She really was losing her mind.

Liam looked at his phone, groaning when he noticed the time. He didn’t need to be up for at least an hour to meet Zayn and he was exhausted; the last few days had really worn him out. He felt Loren’s fingers running over his chest and he looked down to see her tracing the circles of The Cap’s shield. His eyes widened when he realized he was wearing Zayn’s shirt. He opened his mouth to try and spit out some kind of explanation, but was stopped when Loren pressed her lips to his.

“I missed you,” she whispered against his mouth.  “Don’t ever let me leave for that long again.”

Liam pushed her away gently. “Like I ever ‘let’ you do anything. You’ve got your own mind.” He slid out of bed as she pouted up at him. “Morning breath,” he told her over his shoulder as he headed into the bathroom to brush his teeth.

“Shit,” he muttered to himself as he ran a hand roughly through his hair. Had she recognized the shirt? Is that why she was touching it like that?  Did she know that he knew Zayn? Does she know that he knows about her and Zayn?  He brushed his teeth quickly and debated changing his shirt, but decided to just pull it off instead and shoved it to the bottom of the hamper. He had to get that back to Zayn before she became even more suspicious. If she started asking him about it, he knew he’d break and tell her everything.

He walked back into the bedroom, where Loren was gathering clothes and holding a towel, ready to take a shower.  “You’re back early,” he said, watching her. For the first time in a long time, he found himself not wanting to just gather her in his arms.  He was keeping his distance and hoping that she wouldn’t notice or comment.

“Yeah, the art professor called and asked me to come in and cover for her classes today, the model is sick.” Loren pressed a quick kiss to his cheek as she passed, closing the door behind her.

He checked his phone when he heard it beep, happy to see a text from Zayn, meaning the boy made it through the night.  He was disappointed to read that it was a text to cancel meeting at the gym because he needed to get more sleep before class. He didn’t mention anything about the night before, so Liam wasn’t even sure if he remembered anything. Maybe he didn’t even remember their talk at the pub or how he got home.

He thought about climbing back in bed, but now that he was up, he figured he would get something to eat and still head to the gym. It felt like forever since he’d actually made it in there, even though it’d only been a couple days. The past week had passed in some weird stop-start-slow motion-wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey sense.  Although it had only been six days since he’d met Zayn, since he’d gotten the ring back, it still felt as if it was a lifetime ago.

“Going to the gym?” Loren asked as she came back into the room, towel drying her hair before working it into a messy plait. “Niall is really sticking to this,” she commented when he nodded.

He froze, his mind trying to make sense of her comment. He almost asked before he remembered.  He shook his head, amazed at how easily she’d been able to keep up with her own lies and he’d almost been tripped up by just one.  He felt terrible for lying to her, for just this one little one. How did she live with the guilt of all the lies that she was telling him? That she had told Zayn? His breath caught when he considered that maybe she didn’t feel guilty at all, maybe she didn’t care how her lies affected them.  

“No?” she asked, confused by the shake of his head.

“No. Niall gave up right away. I just figured that since I’m up, I might as well go.” He was mentally slapping himself to shut up, but just like always, he never listened. “You know I like to stick to a regular workout regimen.”

“Right,” she said slowly, watching him rush around the room.  “Do you think you can hold off on your regimen long enough to grab some coffee with the love of your life?”

He had to stop himself from snorting, which caused him to start choking. “Of course. It’s not like I’m punching a clock or anything.” His eyes widened and he buried his head in the closet as he realized just how snappy his comment was, just how much it sounded like something that he’d heard Loren say.  Recently, in fact.

“Okay, I have about an hour until I have to be at campus, so as long as we hurry, we can walk over to that new place and then I’ll just walk to the art building.”  She kept talking as Liam followed her out the door, not really listening to what she was saying, but nodding along.  He had made sure to grab his gym bag so he could head to the gym after she left.

He was surprised when she took his hand as they walked, smiling up at him and chatting about all of the shopping she’d done with her mother while she was at home.  He found himself wondering if she was telling the truth or just trying to fill the silence.  If he hadn’t been so out of it, he would try to remember some of the details to ask her about later, but it didn’t seem worth the effort when she was being so physically attentive.  She even brought their joined hands to her lips to press a kiss to his knuckles a couple of times.

He was surprised when they stopped outside of Hazza’s, not realizing this was where she’d been headed.  He shook off the weird feeling of going there with Loren instead of Zayn and reached for the door, nearly gasping as she stepped up on her tiptoes and pressed a hard kiss to his lips, sliding her tongue slowly into his mouth for a long, slow snog.  When she stepped back, she laughed as he gaped at her unexpected public display of affection. She reached up and used her thumb to rub off the lipstick that had transferred to his face. “Guess I should run to the little girl’s room and fix my face.  You go ahead and order; you know what I like,” she told him with a wiggle of her fingers as she darted away.

He walked up to the counter, his mind still on Loren’s out-of-character behavior. He returned Harry’s wide smile with a slightly dazed one. “Morning, Harry.”

"Morning, Liam.  Two large coffees and two pastries, right?" Harry asked. He was already ringing it up as he glanced around the shop for Zayn, who usually ordered for the pair.

"Er...What?" Liam’s face scrunched up in confusion. Loren didn’t drink coffee, she drank sugar loaded coffee sundae things.

"You and Zayn. Your usual order." Liam began nodding, his mind still a little foggy, but finally understanding. Right, he and Zayn did seem to get the same thing and Harry was familiar with them and would know what they liked. "Where is..." Harry trailed off as Loren came up and wrapped herself around Liam's arm.

"Did you order, babe?" She flashed a smile at Harry, her gaze moving over him and he felt the urge to shudder.

"No. I..." Liam gave Harry a panicked look that was mirrored on the curly-haired lad's face.

"He forgot what you wanted," Harry filled in, a bright smile on his face, dimples on full display.

"You silly goof," she told Liam, bopping the tip of his nose with her finger before turning her attention back to Harry. "He'd forget his head if he didn't have me to remind him that it was attached to his shoulders. So pretty, but not so bright." She giggled and gave Harry a wink.

Harry pressed his lips together tightly as he saw humiliation spill over Liam's face. He didn't know what was going on; he'd always assumed Liam and Zayn were a couple. He remembered thinking a blind date had been what brought the two into his shop the first time. He'd enjoyed watching, what he thought was, the growth of a wonderful relationship. Now he really didn't know what to think.

He was yanked back into the present by talon-tipped fingers snapping in his face. "Hello? I know I'm gorgeous..." she started, but Harry cut her off.

"Your boyfriend is more my type, love."

"Fiancé," she corrected, her eyes narrowed as Harry’s jaw dropped. She turned to Liam who was still bright red and looking like a deer caught in headlights. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pouted up at him. "LiLi, I don't like it here," she whined. "The help is rude." She shot another glare at Harry.

Harry's irritated scoff seemed to bring Liam back to himself. "We're already here and you don't have long until you have to get to..." His voice trailed off as she narrowed his eyes at him.

She couldn’t believe that Liam would let someone insult her as badly as this curly haired monster behind the counter had done.  How dare someone rebuff her friendly flirting.  Gay or not, it was only polite to flirt back with a beautiful woman, didn’t this moron know the rules.  And how dare Liam be so insensitive to her? She yanked her arms from around his neck and put her hands on her hips, eyes flashing. "You know what? Forget it. If you want to stay here and be treated badly, so be it." She glared at Harry before striding towards the door. "I'll see you at home."

"Where you can go to be treated even worse," Harry muttered under his breath, feeling only slightly guilty when Liam gave him a bewildered look.

Harry placed the already-poured large coffee into Liam's barely responsive hand. He waved him off when he reached for his wallet. "On the house, man, you need it." Liam shoved the money he'd pulled out of his pocket into the tip jar, or at least tried to, but missed and the money landed on the counter. His feet automatically led him to the couch he normally shared with Zayn, Harry stopping him just before he sat on the couple already there.

The two stood in the middle of the coffee shop, Harry at a loss as to what to do and Liam at a loss as to how to function at all. The door to the shop banged open and Louis came racing through the door and towards the counter. “Harry, I’m so sorry I’m late. Please don’t fire me.”

When there was no response, he glanced around the shop, seeing Liam and Harry standing frozen. Harry's eyes met his and Louis rushed over. "I think he's broken. Some she beast..."

Louis cut him off. "Say no more." He reached over and grasped Liam's elbow, startling him enough to spill some coffee over the edge of his cup and onto his fingers. "Ouch," he said, voice low and automatic.

"Let's sit, big guy," Louis said softly, leading him to a table where Harry had set two muffins and a tea. "Shouldn’t I get to work?"

“Your job right now is to just fix him,” he whispered, pointing to Liam who had started crumbling one of the muffins. His one hand was a nasty shade of red from the coffee, but he didn’t seem to notice.

As Harry hurried behind the counter, Louis settled into the seat next to Liam and reached to take the decimated muffin away from the, clearly tortured, lad. "You alright, Li?"

Liam blinked his eyes a few times before they went wide and he glanced around him. "Louis?" Suddenly, he shook out his hand. "Ow! What the hell?" His eyes snapped to Harry who placed a towel wrapped bag of ice on his hand.

"Thanks," he said to Harry, seeming a little more aware, but not quite all there.

“No problem, mate. Just drink your coffee and eat your…” he trailed off looking at the pile of crumbs in front of Louis.  “Eat the scone I’m going to bring you in a minute.” He walked away shooting a pointed look at Louis, who shrugged in response.

“Louis?” Liam repeated his earlier question, staring at the lad. “What are you doing here?”

“I work here remember? Or at least I hope I still do?” Harry laughed as he set the scone in front of Liam. He gave Louis a nod. “Yes, I work here. It’s what we were celebrating last night at the pub? When you left early? Took Zayn home?” He kept trying to prompt Liam to respond, but the boy just kept staring at him.

“Zee?” He looked around. “Zee will need coffee.”

“Zee’s probably still sleeping.  He has class in a couple of hours.”

“I’m supposed to meet him at the gym.”

Louis shook his head. “Liam, do you know where you are?”

Liam snorted. “Hazza’s.”

“And what day is it?” Louis was really starting to worry.

Liam had to think. He went to the pub last night, but he remembered thinking it was strange. “It's Monday.”

“Good. You were supposed to meet Zayn at the gym, but he canceled because he’s too hungover…” Louis left the end of the sentence dangling, hoping to prompt Liam’s mind to fill in some of the blanks.

Liam slapped the table with his burnt hand, flinching. Harry appeared with a first aid kit; squatting down between the other two, he started attending to Liam’s hand with ointment. “So, I was going to go alone, but Loren came home early.” Louis couldn’t confirm or deny that statement, so he just made a small sound to encourage Liam to continue.

“So, we came here for coffee.” He pointed at the coffee cup on the table and then pointed from the door to the counter.  His jaw dropped when he remembered Loren eyeing Harry like he was a piece of meat. “She flirted with Harry.” Louis gave the other boy wide eyes. Harry groaned and nodded, having honestly hoped Liam had forgotten about that. “Right in front of me!”

“Is she really your fiancé?” Liam nodded slowly, while Louis muttered something unflattering under his breath, earning a slap to the shins by Harry. “What about Zayn?”

“What about him?”

Harry shook his head and his face flushed. “Aren’t the two of you, like, together?” Liam squeaked and Louis burst out with a loud laugh. “I thought the other day...wasn’t that a blind date?”

“Oh, man, you are so far off…” Louis told him, launching into the quick version of that first meeting. Liam was sitting quietly while Harry finished with his hand before pressing the scone into his good hand and lifting it to his mouth, encouraging him to take a bite.

“But, you’ve been here together almost every day since.”

“They’re friends.” Louis made air quotes around the second word.

“We are!” Liam squeaked again, but he couldn’t ignore the looks of doubt that the other two were giving him. “Aren’t we?”

 


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Tuesday! Is everyone alright after yesterday's amazing Believe in Magic Ball? Who is so proud of Louis? I know my heart exploded with pride numerous times yesterday, but I survived so I can be here today to post a new chapter. Now, I'm torturing myself by watching "Road to San Siro" while updating.
> 
> So, I told you the roller coaster started with the last chapter and it continues into this one (and the next and the next and...), so hold on!!!
> 
> I don't know how many of you noticed or realize that Ella and George are Ella Henderson and George Shelley from Union J. I have to confess to having a slight obsession with their season of the XFactor. In this chapter, you will see two more contestants from that season (one being a bandmate of George's) and there will be all the Union J members and one more contestant from the season before this story is over. I just had to sneak my favourites in. :D
> 
> Thank you to my amazing beta Jess! I made her work for her money ($0) on this chapter - think I forgot grammatical basics this week.
> 
> As always, please leave comments or contact me on [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/JolynnMG) or [Tumblr](http://josjournal.tumblr.com).
> 
> Don't know 'em, don't own 'em, don't show 'em!

Zayn groaned when he heard his phone going off.  He picked it up and saw the alarm.  No. There was no way.  He shot a quick text off to Liam, cancelling the gym, muttering the message out loud as he typed slowly. He felt bad, but he just couldn’t bring himself to crawl out of bed yet.  He blinked his eyes at the ceiling, startling when the bed shifted next to him.

“Times’it?”

“Lou?” He rolled to his side and saw his best mate, hair all over the place and face smashed into the pillow. “It’s nine.” He yawned loudly and his stomach rolled. He gently pushed himself into a sitting position. “Was supposed to go to the gym, but, ugh….”

“M’kay,” his friend muttered before rolling over.  Suddenly, Louis shot out of the bed, causing it to shift violently and send Zayn off the other side and to the floor. “Shit. Shit. Shitshitshitshit!” Louis was naked, cursing and racing around Zayn’s room, ripping drawers open and stealing his clothes. He threw on the clothes, having trouble with the t-shirt, running into the furniture until his head finally popped out.

“What?”

“I’m late! My first day and I’m late! Harry’s going to fire me before I start!” He was racing out of the room when he caught sight of himself in the mirror. He let out a scream and raced into the bathroom where the sounds of product bottles crashing to the floor carried into the bedroom.

Zayn remained on the floor, allowing the insanity that was his best friend spin out of control. If he hadn’t been hurting so badly, he would’ve been laughing. As much as the thought of moving at all was nauseating, he was concerned about the state of his bathroom.  He pushed himself to his feet, using the edge of the bed to keep himself from wavering too much.  He was just pushing himself to move when Louis came running out, his hair styled into a sloppy quiff.

“Uh, Lou…” His friend stopped in the doorway to the bedroom and looked at him, eyebrows raised.  “Did we…” He pointed to the bed behind him, his memory of last night gone beyond snapping at Liam and escaping over the table and outside the pub.

Louis raised his eyebrows. “If we had, you would remember.” He gave him a cheeky wink, which Zayn answered with a two-finger salute. “Nah, mate. You were out cold when I got here. Liam brought you back.”

Zayn’s face paled and his stomach dropped. “Li?”

Louis nodded. “Look, I’d love to stay and discuss the crisis you’re having, but I have to go and try to save the job I barely have.” He was out the door before ducking his head back in and giving him a smile. “Pretty sure nothing happened with you two either, though. Just in case you were imagining the worst, but if you were imagining the best, then proceed; I’ll leave you to it.” He laughed as he ducked away from the pillow Zayn launched at him. The laughter continued until it was dampened by the shutting of the flat door.

Zayn made his way to the bathroom and into the shower, leaning his head against the cool tile, trying to make the pounding stop, but wasn't having much success.  Finally, he gave up and got out of the shower to get some paracetamol and a bottle of water.  He really wanted to get some coffee, but he didn’t want Louis to think he was checking up on him.  He finally decided to head over to campus early and grab some of the really bad coffee from the cafeteria.

He pulled on a plain black tee with ripped blue jeans and his leather jacket, topping his messy hair with a black beanie.  Finally, he grabbed his bag of sketchbooks and made his way slowly to campus, pulling on a pair of sunglasses when the sunlight promised to explode his eyeballs out of his head.  As he walked, he thought about Liam, and as the paracetamol kicked in, vague memories of the night before started to come back to him.

He had to stop and dry heave into a trash can when he remembered telling Liam that he loved Loren. Why did he do that? Even worse, why did he say that bit about him falling in love too quickly, while looking at Liam and his damn puppy dog eyes.  Did Liam understand what he was saying? He wasn’t even sure he understood what he’d been saying.

After paying for his coffee and finding a dark corner of the cafeteria to sit in, he laid his head back on the chair and tried to figure out if he’d done anything else to completely humiliate himself or ruin his friendship with Liam anymore than he already had.  Called him daddy. Drank his shot. Confessed his broken heart over Loren. All but confessed his love for Liam.  Zayn groaned and had a sudden understanding of Liam smacking himself in the head and calling himself idiot the other day.

“Zayn?”  He looked up when he heard his name and saw George and his friend Josh walking towards him. The two of them had bags over their shoulders and a cup of the same hot sludge he was drinking.

“Hey, George. Josh.” He pointed to the chairs next to him and they sank down, dropping their heavy bags with loud thuds and sighs.  They made identical faces when they took sips of the coffee. “I recommend skipping this place and going to Hazza’s instead. That coffee is amazing.” Josh pointed at his own paper cup with a confused smile and Zayn shrugged at his apparent hypocrisy. “Louis started working there today.”

George tilted his head to the side. “Haven’t heard any fire trucks yet.” The three laughed and Zayn kicked out his foot, tapping George’s knee.  His headache was finally starting to fade and the laughter felt good.

The three sat and chatted for a few minutes until Zayn’s alarm went off, the one that usually woke him for class. He grabbed his stuff and stood, throwing the, still mostly filled, paper cup into the trash. He shot a quick text off to Louis as he entered the art building, asking how his first day was going. He nearly walked into Ella while he hit send.

“Morning,” he said, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Just saw your other half with Josh.”  He flashed her a grin that fell quickly when she didn’t return it.

“Zayn, can you skip class?” she asked, her voice serious, but her eyes looking everywhere except at him.

He looked worried, his mind going to the worst, but he’d just seen George, so it couldn’t have been too bad. “What’s going on, Els? Did something happen with George?” He grasped her upper arms gently, forcing her to look at him.

“George is fine.” She reached up and touched his face gently. “Loren is modeling today,” she whispered and Zayn backed away from her as if he’d been burned.

“Shit. Fuck,” he started and kept up a long string of curses. “I can’t miss another class, Els. The teacher already threatened to fail me if I even think about showing up late!” He pounded the wall with his fists. It was Loren’s fault he’d already missed so many classes. She kept convincing him to stay in bed, or meet her for coffee, or anything except go to class.

Now he was going to have to face her for the first time since he threw her out of his flat and his life. The day after telling her fiancé that she had broken his heart and nearly telling him that he was in love with him, he was going to be forced to see her. To see her naked. “FUCK!” he shouted and smacked the wall again.  He seriously considered punching the wall until he felt the bones snap, his teacher couldn’t fail him if he had to go to emergency, could she?

“Zayn, stop!” Ella yelled, drawing the attention of a few of their classmates that were moving towards the classroom. Rylan, a tall dark-haired guy, hurried over and grasped Zayn’s wrist tightly, stopping him from hitting the wall again.

“Mate, nothing is worth messing up a body like yours. Seriously.” He looked down at Zayn and gave him a goofy wink, forcing Zayn to snort out a laugh, the tension leaving his body.

“Yeah, you’re right,” he admitted, shaking out his hand. “Guess I just need to suck it up and get through the next two hours without losing my shit.”

Ella threw her arms around him. “I’ll be right next to you the whole time. I won’t let that bitch so much as look at you!” She gave out a little growl, making Zayn laugh.

Rylan’s laugh echoed through the hallway. “Anyone who gets sweet little Ella this riled up must be a bitch.” He rubbed his hands together, a gleeful look on his face.  “This is gonna be fabulous!”

Ella grinned and pointed to a small red mark on her cheek. “See this?” Rylan held her chin and turned her head to give the nearly invisible mark an appraising look. “Bitch gave it to me for no reason.”

Zayn growled. “That’s what happened when she got suspended?” Ella nodded. “She’s lucky I wasn’t there. Surprised Liam didn’t kill her.”

Ella looked sad. “He’d let her get away with murder.” The trio looked over as they saw their teacher entering the room. “It’s now or never.”

Zayn followed Rylan and Ella in the room.  They took places at the back of the class instead of the front where they usually stationed themselves. Loren stood at the front of the class in a dark green robe, her brown hair twisted into a messy plait. Zayn tried not to look at her any more than he had to before the teacher began to speak.  

“Today, I want you to concentrate on the part of the human figure that gives you the most difficulty. For some of you, it is the torso.” She glanced over at a tall girl in front of the class. “For others, it’s the hair.” She looked at Ella who blushed.  “For others, it’s something as simple as the hands.” Her eyes rested on Zayn, who closed his eyes and groaned.

She gestured to Loren, who was looking at Zayn as she let the robe slip from her shoulders.  Loren gave a sly smirk as she laid her hands over her breasts, knowing that would be forcing Zayn to look there, remembering how much attention he used to pay to that part of her.  Zayn looked at her, his eyes hard as his hand started to fly over the paper in front of him.

Zayn drew her hands, ignoring where they rested, his stomach boiling, his coffee threatening to make a reappearance as his headache came back with a vengeance.  He couldn’t believe he was ever attracted to her, ever thought she was the most beautiful person on this earth. He looked at her now and just saw her puffy jawline and nose that seemed pressed back into her face, her slightly protruding teeth, her lower lip that looked like it’d gotten a triple dose of collagen, the perfect beauty stripped away.  He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, feeling Ella’s hand run over his arm briefly.  

Zayn blinked his eyes a few times and looked at his drawing, judging it for the imperfections and trying to figure out why the hands looked wrong.  He glanced at the drawing and then back up at Loren who was still watching him, her hands squeezing her breasts briefly.  Now all Zayn could imagine was Liam’s hands on her, Liam’s mouth, that beautiful mouth, sliding across her skin and Zayn could feel the bile starting to climb back up his throat.

“I’m gonna puke,” he said to Ella before darting out of the classroom, hearing the teacher yell after him, hoping Ella would explain.

He made it to the bathroom just in time to empty the contents of, and possibly his actual, stomach into the toilet.  He rested his head against the stall wall as he tried to will away the explosion in his brain.  After a few moments, he could feel his heart rate slowing and the world started feeling a little less suffocating.

He pushed himself to his feet, ready to head back to the classroom; he could do this. He just had to focus on her hands, he couldn’t let his mind wander. He had to focus and figure out what was wrong with his drawing. He could do this. He could.

He reentered the classroom, an apology on his lips, but the teacher just shook her head with a small smile.  She also passed him a piece of gum, with a nod. His regard for the teacher grew tenfold as he returned to his easel.  Ella gave him a concerned look, but he waved her off, his eyes already going back to his drawing. He started working again, barely glancing at Loren now as he fixed lines and shading.  The drawing still looked wrong.

He sighed as he looked at his own hands, turning them over. He glanced at Ella’s hands, the delicate fingers trying to draw Loren’s plait. The clearest part of the drawing was the jeweled clasp at the bottom, holding the plait closed.   The detail she had applied to the accessory was amazing.  He really admired Ella’s talent and determination.  He glanced at Loren, taking in the sparkling clip, then his eyes traveled to her earrings and the delicate chain around her neck before finally traveling to her hands.  He knew what was missing.

He took his phone out and scrolled through the pictures before opening one and setting it on the easel. He glanced at the picture for a few moments before he began drawing again, fully focused.  The time flew without him noticing. When he felt Ella’s hand on his shoulder, he finally dropped his pencil and stood back, his shoulders slumped in exhaustion. The teacher came to look at his work, her eyes narrowing for a moment before she smiled.

“Perfect hands, Mr. Malik.” She tapped the drawing. “I should mark you down for the addition, but I admire your improvement on the rest.” She tilted her head. “That ring really doesn’t look like it belongs there.”

Zayn heard Loren gasp and then she was standing next to him staring at the drawing of her hands, her engagement ring standing out on her finger. Correction, Liam’s grandmother’s ring. She looked at Zayn, her mouth gaped open.

“You’re right, Miss Poole. It really doesn’t belong there. It’s far too classy.” Ignoring Loren’s screech, he turned on his heel and stormed out of the classroom, hoping Ella and Rylan would gather his stuff and come find him.

 


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone for all of the great comments and all the kudos! I really do live for those.
> 
> Thanks to Jess for being the most amazing beta and friend ever. I'm glad she's still enjoying the story even on her second or third read through of it.
> 
> Remember, you can always contact me on [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/JolynnMG) or [Tumblr](http://josjournal.tumblr.com/).
> 
> Don't know 'em, don't own 'em, don't show 'em.

Liam and Louis had moved to the couch when the couple that had occupied it left.  Liam still wasn’t talking much, not since he had asked if he and Zayn were friends and didn’t get an answer.  He took his phone out a couple of times and looked back over the texts he’d exchanged with Zayn. His emotions went from one end of the spectrum to the other. He’d put the phone down feeling angry or confused, depending which order he read them in.

After the tenth time of doing that, he opened up his texts from Loren.  He didn’t have them all saved like he did Zayn’s.  He wasn’t sure what that meant, but he was convinced it was just because he’d only known Zayn for a week. Every message he read from Loren just drove more pain into his heart. Every time she called him something mean or degraded his intelligence or blamed him for something sent his breathing into a heavy pant and brought Harry rushing to his side with something else to eat or drink until he felt like he was going to explode.

He’d just gotten done reading through Zayn’s texts for the fifth time when he looked up at Louis, who was pretending not to watch him by keeping his gaze on Harry.  It was pretty entertaining to observe and Liam realized something. “Louis, are you gay?” he blurted out and facepalmed himself as soon as he did.

Louis looked surprised, but, after a moment of staring, just shrugged his shoulders and answered, “Yep. Are you?” It seemed to be the logical thing to ask in return.

If Louis had expected Liam to be embarrassed or stammer, he was disappointed when Liam said, “Bisexual, actually.”  Louis tried to hide his grin by looking at Harry, but Liam caught it. “Is Zayn?”

“Shouldn’t really ask someone about someone else’s sexuality, mate,” Louis responded, unsure if Zayn would want him to say, if he wanted him to say anything at all.

“Right.  Guess I’ll have to ask him when I see him. Which should’ve been this morning, but he bailed on me,” Liam said with a sigh.

Louis groaned as he repeated, for the umpteenth time, “He was hungover. He needed sleep and meds, not a workout, before class.”

Liam nodded. “I know. He had art something or other today.”

“Life drawing,” Louis responded.

Liam’s head snapped up.  Had he heard the other boy correctly?  “What?”

“He had his life drawing course today, where he draws the human fig….” Louis trailed off when he remembered that was the class his friend had met Loren in.

“Loren is modeling today.” Liam’s mind immediately flashed to a scene of Zayn seeing Loren and deciding he still loved her too much to let her go. He pictured the two of them locked together in an embrace, lips moving together; the two of them laughing at him, at what a fool he was to think that either one of them cared about him in the slightest way.  He felt his breathing pick up and Harry was there with a bottle of water, holding it to his lips and forcing him to sip.

“Harold, the poor boy is going to float away or explode if you keep shoving things in his mouth.” Harry raised an eyebrow at Louis, who snorted when he realized what he’d said, eventually bringing a flush to Liam’s face which he covered with his hands and gave an embarrassed moan.

“It’s all over,” Liam moaned and Louis groaned. “She’s going to see Zayn, realize it’s him she loves, and leave me.”

At that moment, Niall hurried into the coffee shop, having finally woken up and gotten Louis’ panicked texts regarding Liam.  “And that would be the best thing that ever happened to you, mate.”

“Hey!” Liam said as Louis interrupted with, “And the worst thing that ever happened to Zayn.”

“Where is Zayn? Why isn’t he here?” Niall asked, figuring Mr. Sparkles would be there the second he found out Liam was having a breakdown.

“He’s in class. With Loren.”

“The naked class?”

“That would be the one,” Louis answered as he glanced at his phone.  “He should be getting out about now.  Do you want me to text him and get him to come here, Li?”

Liam thought about it as his phone lit up long enough to show an incoming message from Loren and then it died completely, giving a small zapping sound as it did so.  The boys all stared at it before Niall burst out laughing. “I think it finally bit the big one.”

“Yeah...I’m going to text Zayn.” Louis shot off a quick text and was surprised when the phone rang instead of getting a message in return.

“Is he alright?” Zayn’s voice asked, panicked.  “Did Loren call him?”

"She just tried to text him, but his phone pretty much exploded in protest. Why?”

“His phone exploded? What do you-” Zayn’s voice was slurred in confusion. He cut himself off with, “Never mind.  Lou, I fucked up. I fucked up big time. I have to talk to Liam before Loren does.  I’ll be there in, like, five minutes.  Don’t let him leave or talk to her or anything, alright?”  He hung up before Louis could respond.

Liam glanced up. “Is he running away with her?”

“I don’t think so,” Louis said slowly. “I’m pretty sure he’s on his way here.  Needs to talk to you or something.” He glanced at Niall for help, but the blond just shrugged and took to snacking on the different bits of food left on the table. Louis gave him a glare before turning a smile on Liam. “You know, now that Niall’s here, I think I’m going to get to work. I’m pretty sure Harry didn’t expect to hire someone who sat on their arse all day long.” He jumped to his feet and ran to the back room, snagging Harry by the arm as he went, dragging him with him.

“That lad is strange,” Niall said as he took the spot vacated by Louis and threw an arm around his best mate.

“So, Louis said you were having a breakdown of some sort.” Niall grabbed half of a sandwich that was sitting on the table and bit into it, moaning. “Damn, this is good.”

“I wasn’t having a breakdown. I was just a little upset.” He looked over the bits of food left on the table and the half empty cups of different beverages before picking up a water bottle and drinking it quickly. “Do you like Loren at all?” he finally said to Niall, causing the boy to choke on the last bite of sandwich he’d just shoved into his mouth.

“Honestly?” Liam nodded, figuring that nothing Niall would say could take him by surprise anymore. “No.”

Liam waited for him to continue, but as the silence dragged on and Niall finished off a biscotti and a scone, he realized there was not going to be any further explanation.  “Okay, then…”

“Do you?”

“What?”

“Do you like Loren at all?” Niall asked, his face serious, an unfamiliar expression for the other boy.

“What kind of question is that? She’s my fiancé. We’re going to be married.” Liam started crushing the empty water bottle in his hands, twisting it, the sound carrying through the shop, drawing annoyed looks.  He was going to feel really bad if he somehow managed to drive away all of Harry’s other customers.  “I mean, really, what kind of question is that?”

“One that you didn’t answer,” Niall responded with a shrug.  “So, let’s try a different question. Do you like Zayn?”

Liam blinked at his friend, confused by the change in topic. “Of course I do. He’s a great guy.”

“So, you’ll tell me how you feel about Zayn, but not how you feel about-” he was cut off as the door banged open and Zayn came racing into the shop, dropping to his knees in front of Liam, his face flushed and eyes wet with unshed tears.

“Shit, Liam,” he choked out, his breathing ragged. “I’m so sorry. So fucking sorry.” He was grasping Liam’s hands in his and Liam was looking lost as Louis and Harry came out of the back room looking disheveled and confused. “I didn’t mean to...I was just so fucking pissed. I didn’t mean it. I’m so fucking sorry. You have to forgive me.” Zayn was shaking and Liam pulled his hands out of his, wrapping his arms around the other boy, hanging on tight as Zayn buried his face into his stomach, his shirt becoming wet as the unshed tears finally fell.

“Shh...shh, Zayn….what’s wrong? What are you apologizing for? I don’t understand. Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s fine.” Liam was so confused, but he could feel his own eyes growing damp from the twist in his chest with every sob that broke out of the other boy. “Does anybody know what’s going on?” He looked at everyone else, all the faces mirroring his own confused one.

At that moment, Ella entered the coffee shop, George behind her, carrying Zayn’s bag with his sketchbooks in it.  “I do,” she told Liam, leaning over and pressing a kiss to the top of his head and then Niall’s and finally Louis’ cheek.  She glanced at Harry who was standing behind Louis and, with a shrug, pressed a kiss to his cheek.  She reached over and patted Zayn’s hair, leaning to whisper in his ear, smiling sadly when he nodded against Liam’s chest.

Standing back up, she reached into Zayn’s bag and pulled out his sketchbook from class that day. “So, Loren was our model today.” She looked at Liam who nodded, he’d already figured that out.  “We were supposed to focus on the part of the body we struggle the most with.”

“Tell me you’re going to show us her boobs,” Niall said before he could stop himself, earning smacks from several people and a soft “Hey,” from Liam. “I don’t want to see _her_ boobs, but c’mon, boobs.” He shook his head as he looked at everyone around him, the only one returning his grin was George. “I need more straight friends,” he muttered, leaning back  and crossing his arms over his chest in an exaggerated pout.

“Anyway…” Ella tried to continue, but Liam spoke up.

“You had to draw her hair, didn’t you?” he asked, his voice soft as he looked at Ella, knowing how she always struggled with hair and he could feel Zayn chuckle lightly where his face was still buried in Liam’s stomach. “You going to stop hiding?” he asked the other boy who squeezed his arms tighter around Liam and shook his head. “Okay, okay,” he whispered, running a hand over Zayn’s hair again as he looked up at Ella to continue.

“So, I had to draw her hair and Zayn had to draw her hands.”  She looked at Liam who was still confused. Liam looked down at Zayn again, the boy he’d never seen quite this broken. Usually it was Liam who was falling apart in this friendship, Zayn putting him back together.  

“Loren tried to distract Zayn, she must have known that he was having to draw her hands. She kept them over her breasts and kept shooting looks at him.  At one point, Zayn had to leave the room to throw up.”  She started to laugh a bit at that, stopping when Zayn made a weak sound. “Sorry, Zayn. So, when he came back, he was staring at his drawing.  I’m not entirely sure what happened between that moment and when he finished…”

Zayn sat back on his calves, finally pulling his face out of Liam’s stomach. “I drew the ring, Li. I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I pulled up the picture I sent you on my phone and I drew it. She saw it. She knows I know. I’m sorry.  I fucked everything up.” He started to get to his feet, but Liam stopped him, pulling him to sit on the couch next to him. “I’ve probably made life hell for you now.”

Liam wasn’t speaking, but he wasn’t letting go of Zayn either. His mind was racing with what this could mean for him, for Loren, for the both of them, for all of them.  He realized he wasn’t sure he cared what it meant, but he was really sure he didn’t want to see that message on his phone now, even if he could. “Well, fuck,” he finally uttered and everyone stared at him, Zayn gasping slightly. “What the hell do I do now?”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the brief notes - I may or may not be a wee bit hungover.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, it's Tuesday already? I'm off work this week, so time is passing strangely. Just to let you know, Friday's update might be early, it might be late, or it might be right on time. Tomorrow, I have the 5SOS concert. Then Thursday I'm going to Hell (literally, there is a town called Hell in Michigan) and then Friday to Frankenmuth (another town in Michigan). So, I'll be spending a lot of time in my car for three days and away from my computer. I am hoping I will be able to update before we hit the road on Friday, but I don't want to make any promises that I cannot keep.
> 
> Much love and thanks to Jess for the beta. I should warn you that she is "so mad" at me for ending this chapter where I did.
> 
> I've gotten some lovely comments on [Tumblr](http://josjournal.tumblr.com) and [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/JolynnMG) and they really make me smile. All the comments here as well, so please keep them coming! You have no idea how happy it makes me to read them! :D
> 
> As always, don't know 'em, don't own 'em, don't show 'em.

“Well, fuck,” he finally uttered and everyone stared at him, Zayn gasping slightly. “What the hell do I do now?”

“Don’t hate me, for starters,” Zayn suggested once he found his voice. Liam looked at him, nearly laughing when he realized they were both chewing on their lower lips, a spot of blood appearing on Zayn’s.  Liam reached out and used his thumb to gently coax Zayn to stop biting.  He patted his cheek when he did.

“Why would I hate you?  What did you do wrong?” Liam was really confused as to why Zayn thought Liam would be angry with him.

“Now, she’ll know you know. She’ll...I don’t know what she’ll do, but she’ll know you know!” Zayn’s voice was becoming panicky and Harry started towards him with a water, but Liam stopped him with a hard look, taking the bottle and holding it to Zayn’s mouth himself.

“All she knows is that you know, she has no idea what I know.” Liam’s voice was quiet, but Zayn could hear the edge of nervousness to it. “Maybe it’s for the best, anyway. Get it all out in the open.” _“Get it all out in the open and over with,”_ he thought to himself, for the first time realizing that maybe losing her wouldn’t be the end of the world.

Zayn snorted. “So you can move on from this? Together?” His voice was harsh and for a moment, Liam felt as if he’d been smacked. The others grew uncomfortable, feeling as if they’d ventured into private territory.

“Honestly, I don’t...I don’t know,” Liam told him, not ready to voice what he was thinking, especially not with an audience.  He glanced at the others and then down at his watch,cursing again. “I have to work in a couple of hours. Dammit. I don’t want to do this.” He looked up at the ceiling and then at Zayn. “Can I borrow your phone?” Zayn dug it out of his pocket and handed it over, watching as Liam dialed it quickly. “Paul? Yeah, it’s Li.  Um, I’m not going to be able to make it into work tonight.  Maybe call Andy or Calvin to see if they can cover. In fact, call Calvin first, he’s been trying to pick up some extra hours. Yeah….yeah, I’ll try. Oh, and don’t mention it to my dad, yeah? I’ll talk to him myself. Okay, bye.”

Niall’s jaw was dropped. “You just called into work.”

“Yeah, I did.”

“You never call into work.  The only time you missed school was when you were in the hospital.” Niall yelped.  “Oh my god, you’re dying!”

Liam burst out laughing. “I’m not dying, Niall. I just can’t do work tonight. I have to figure some things out and I won’t be able to do it there.” Liam ran a hand through his hair, tugging on the ends roughly as he realized Zayn was staring at him. “What?”

“So, where are you going to do it?” Zayn asked, wondering if he had called in so he could go back to his flat and wait for Loren. His mind went back to the images he’d seen in his head in class earlier and he started to feel sick again. He felt Liam press the water bottle to his lips. He took a sip with a small smile, his stomach settling as their eyes met.

“Uh, Niall? Can I stay at yours?” Liam suddenly asked, but stopped when Zayn put a hand on his arm.

“Are you trying not to see her?” he asked quietly and Liam gave a small nod. “Niall’s will be the first place she looks.  Come to mine.”

Liam stared at him, debating. He had a lot to think about and he was beginning to think that Zayn was a bigger part of what he had to think about than he’d originally imagined, but he knew that the other boy had a point, so he pressed a kiss to his forehead and nodded. “Thanks. I just need to get some stuff from my place.” He glanced down at his dead phone. “And we need to stop and get me a new phone.”

Zayn nodded and rose. He looked at the mess on the table and to Harry, who was watching the two of them with concerned eyes. “How much do we-”

Harry waved a hand in the air. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll just take it out of Lou’s paycheck.”

“Hey!” Louis shouted, but laughed when he realized Harry was kidding.

“We should go.  There’s only one more class today and then I’m sure Loren will be running back to yours to do damage control or something,” Zayn said, his voice still sounding a bit choked.  

Liam nodded and stood, picking up Zayn’s bag and the sketchbook Ella had pulled out, looking at the picture for the first time. “Wow, that’s really good.” He looked at Zayn. “If you needed to work on your hands, I can’t wait to see the rest of your stuff, it must be amazing.”

Zayn blushed and shook his head as he tried to take the bag from Liam, but the other boy wouldn’t give it up, just grabbed Zayn by the arm and pulled him out of the shop, calling goodbyes to the others over his shoulder.

“Let us know what’s going on,” Louis shouted and Zayn waved a hand to acknowledge his friend, but kept his eyes on Liam as he continued down the street, his hand dropping from his arm to his wrist and finally, with a small sigh, intertwined their fingers as they walked down the street.

“Um...Li?” Zayn asked, squeezing his hand, unsure if Liam even realized he was holding his hand. He had hesitated to say anything because he quite liked how their hands fit together.

“Just..just..” Liam wasn’t sure what he wanted to say, but he felt grounded by Zayn’s hand, so he didn’t want to let go. “If you want me to let go, I will, but…”

“No, it’s fine.” He glanced around him, realizing they were walking towards some of the higher end housing. “Where are we…” he trailed off as Liam unlocked the door to a building and pulled Zayn in with him.

Zayn followed Liam to the elevator, looking around him at the poshness of the lobby. When the doors to the elevator opened, an elderly woman walked out and looked at Liam with a kind smile. “Liam, love, it’s so nice to see you.”

“Good afternoon, Ms. Standish.  How are you?”  Liam responded and Zayn was waiting for him to release his hand, but he just squeezed it gently when the older woman’s eyes fell on Zayn.

“I’m quite well.  Who is this handsome young man? Is he yours?” Her smile was kind and her eyes glittered with mischief, making them appear far too young for the face they inhabited.

Zayn blushed intensely, as he and Ms. Standish both waited for Liam’s answer.  “Why, ma’am? Are you thinking of stealing him for yourself?”

The woman smacked Liam on the arm with a girlish giggle. “Silly boy!”  She leaned in to whisper in Zayn’s ear, “You’re a helluva lot better than that trollop he’s usually with.”

Zayn tried to bite back a laugh as he pressed a kiss to the older woman’s cheek and whispered back, “I know.”

Liam tugged Zayn into the elevator, shaking his head fondly. “Ms. Standish, it was lovely seeing you. We will have to have lunch next week sometime.”

She waved as the elevator doors closed. “Oh yes, and you must bring your young man with you. I look forward to getting to know him.”

“I’m so sorry about that,” Liam said, laughing as he turned to Zayn. “She’s a really nice old woman, but a bit of a busy body.”

“I like her. Just let me know when lunch is, maybe I can convince her to marry me and take care of me for the rest of my life.”  He laughed loudly, letting Liam know that he was only teasing. He looked around the elevator, staring up at the mirrored ceiling and stuck his tongue out at his own reflection, causing Liam to chuckle and mimic the action.   “You must make a fuck ton of money as a bouncer to afford this place.”

The doors to the elevator slid open soundlessly and Liam pulled Zayn behind him down to the end of the hall. “True confession time. My parents own the building.  I probably don’t pay any more for rent than you do.” He didn't normally offer up that information, but he had a feeling Zayn wouldn't judge him one way or another for it.

“Shit. You’re loaded?” Zayn stopped in his tracks, suddenly feeling uncomfortable.

“No. My parents are loaded. I work as a bouncer in a strip club.” He paused as he finally let go of Zayn’s hand to unlock the door and push it open. “Which my parents also own,” he finished quickly as he disappeared into the flat.

Zayn raced after him. “What? Your parents own this building. They own your place of employment and you still have a phone that’s crap?” He shook his head in amazement.

“Look, I know it’s stupid. I know you probably think I should just be mooching off them and spending their mon-"

Zayn held up a hand. “Mate, I think it’s amazing. Good for you.”

Liam stared at him, shocked. “Really?” Even Niall hadn't understood his situation this quickly and he'd certainly never called it amazing.

“Really.  I think it’s important to prove yourself. And making your own way when you don’t have to? That's pretty damn impressive.”  Zayn moved around the flat, taking in the interior, while Liam went into his room to pack some clothes.

Liam made sure to grab Zayn’s shirt from the dirty laundry and packed enough for a few days; he wasn’t sure how long he planned on being gone, but he didn’t want to risk coming back here until he was positive what he wanted to do.  He stopped when he saw the picture of him and Loren that was sitting on the armoire.  He picked it up and studied it. He’d always loved the picture of the two of them. They were standing on the beach, Loren in front and Liam behind her with his arms wrapped around her waist, head resting on her shoulder, eyes looking at the camera.  Her eyes were looking in the distance, beyond the camera.  He realized the photo reminded him of the one Zayn had shown him when he’d told the story of Krasna.

He placed the photo facedown on the dresser and grabbed a few more items of clothing.  He walked back out into the main room and saw Zayn flipping through the course catalog he’d left on the end table. “Was Loren going to be switching majors?”

Liam blushed as he took the book from him, shoving it into his bag. “No, that’s for me. I was thinking about maybe finally going to school, studying business. Might help when I take over.”

“Take over?” Zayn was confused for a moment, but then his jaw dropped. “You’re going to take over the club?” Liam nodded.

“All the clubs, actually. There’s six of them.”

“Six? Then going to school for business is a great idea.  That is so smart!” He reached over and picked up his bag while Liam shouldered his own.

“Probably won’t though. I’m not all that bright.” He ducked his head, refusing to look at Zayn as he heard the voices, really just her voice, belittling his intelligence.

Zayn grabbed Liam’s hand after he’d locked up behind them. He'd watched Liam and suspected where his mind was going; he really wore his emotions on his face.  “You are smart and you can do anything you put your mind to, don’t let anyone ever tell you any differently.” He knew that Loren was the one that had convinced Liam he wasn’t smart enough for this and he hated her just a little bit more for it.

“Thanks.” They walked to the elevator and rode down in silence, heading to Liam’s car, throwing their stuff in the boot before driving to pick up a new phone for Liam.

After they were done getting a phone and picking up some take away, they headed to Zayn’s, their arms full and smiles on their faces. Zayn knew Liam needed to do some serious thinking, but he was working really hard to distract him.  He hated the tense, sad look that would cross the other boy’s face when he started to think about Loren; it twisted his insides and made him feel sick again.

Once they were inside and had put Liam’s bag in Zayn’s room, they sat on the couch eating take away. They decided to watch the Avenger’s movie they’d fallen asleep during the other night.  The food was good and Liam kept stealing bits of Zayn’s and then complaining about how spicy it was. Zayn would retaliate by pushing his toes into Liam’s thigh or side, making the boy giggle.  

The food long gone and the movie mostly over, Zayn reached under the table and pulled a spliff out, showing it to Liam who looked thoughtful and then nodded.  “I have so much to think about, but I don’t want to do it tonight.” He knew he was just putting off the inevitable, but he couldn’t help it; it was so much easier to just chill with Zayn than deal with the hard questions.

“Agreed.” Zayn lit up and the two of them shared in silence, broken only by the occasional giggle from Liam.

The  spliff finished, Zayn stood from the couch, headed into the kitchen and returned with two bottles of water.  “Drink,” he told Liam, who obeyed. The two drank quickly, racing to see who could finish first and ended up with more water on their shirts than in their mouths.

Liam was laughing as he pulled at the wet spots on his shirt before saying, “Fuck it,” and pulling the shirt off and throwing it on the floor.  Zayn stared at him boldly, trying hard not to drool at the muscles that were standing out, the defined abs that made his mouth drier than the pot had.  He sincerely hoped the other boy was too high to notice.

Liam leaned his head back on the arm of the couch for a minute, staring at the ceiling before looking at Zayn. He could tell the boy was staring at him and he felt flattered.  Suddenly he remembered something from his conversation with Louis earlier.  He sat up, moving so that he was sitting directly next to Zayn, his knee pressed into Zayn’s thigh.  Zayn looked up and met his eyes, a questioning tilt to his brows.

“Zee...can I ask a question?”

“You just did, mate, but you can ask any questions you want. I’ll always answer.” Zayn wanted to smack himself, but being high always made him honest. Brutally honest. And sappy. Or maybe it was just Liam who made him sappy.

“Are you gay?”

“I dated Loren.” Liam made a face at the reminder.

“I’m engaged to her, but I fancy blokes, too.” Zayn felt like puking at the fact that Liam wasn’t high enough to forget that he was engaged.

“My sexuality is situational,” Zayn finally admitted and Liam looked confused for a minute before leaning closer.

“And in this situation?” Liam asked, his breath brushing over Zayn’s lips as his eyes looked into his. “What is it in this situation?”

A million thoughts raced through Zayn’s head, but before he could even grab hold of one to verbalize, he leaned in as well and pressed his mouth to Liam’s.  Even as high as they both were, it didn’t take Liam long to respond, his lips moving against Zayn’s, chapped and rough, but soft at the same time.  Zayn pulled back, his eyes searching, afraid that Liam would get up and run away, but wanting to give him the chance if he needed to.

Liam giggled for a second before leaning back in, his lips slightly parted as they met Zayn’s.  His tongue slid along the seam of Zayn’s lips, begging for entrance that was granted and they both sighed. Liam moved his hand to the back of Zayn’s neck, tilting his own to deepen the kiss even more. The two became so lost in each other, they didn’t hear the sound of the flat door opening behind them.

 

 


	17. Chapter Seventeen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it's 4:44 in the morning here. I woke up because my Twitter notifications were going crazy over the "Drag Me Down" video (it's amazing isn't it?) and I decided it was the perfect time to update (since my beautiful beta sent me the chapter while I was sleeping) before my day becomes a crazy mess of driving and sightseeing with my mom and daughters. Trust me, I stressed on whether the update was going to be on time today (I drove Jess nuts about it, I'm sure).
> 
> I am so sorry that this is probably not what you were expecting from this update. This chapter was really hard to write (I never want to spend so much time in such a horrible place again), but I am actually pretty proud of it and think it's important to the story.
> 
> You can come yell at me on [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/JolynnMG) and [Tumblr](http://josjournal.tumblr.com).
> 
> Thank you to Jess, my beautiful beta and bestie, for putting up with me. If there are any errors in the story they are all on me and I blame them on:
> 
>   * It's 4:51 a.m.
>   * I have had little to no sleep
>   * The Drag Me Down Video
>   * I'm just plain stubborn
> 

> 
> As always: Don't know 'em, don't own 'em, don't show 'em.

“You’re right, Miss Poole. It really doesn’t belong there. It’s far too classy.” Loren let out a shriek of surprise at Zayn’s words, staring at his retreating back before turning back towards the drawing, the perfect recreation of the ring that was currently shoved into the pocket of her bag, hidden from the world.

Zayn knew.

She turned to go after him, but stopped when she felt Miss Poole’s hand on her arm. She turned to the woman who was wearing an amused smirk on her face. “What?” she snapped, trying to pull away.

“You might want to put some clothing on before you race out of here.” Loren huffed and stormed to the front of the room. “And you might also like to remember that you have one more class to pose for today.” Loren gave a low scream of frustration as she grabbed the robe and moved into the area used as a changing room.

She dug through her bag, trying to find her phone. Her hand found the ring instead. She stared at it in her palm.  Zayn knew about Liam.  Did Liam know about Zayn?  What if Liam didn’t know and now Zayn was going to tell him. She threw the ring back into the bag and pulled out her phone.  She sent off a quick text to Liam, asking him to call her. She saw the small “Delivered” appear under the message and waited for it to change to “Read”.  

She was still staring at the phone waiting, when she heard the teacher calling her back out. She sent off another text, confused when the “Delivered” didn’t move to below the new message. Did Liam shut his phone off? Did he let it die again?  She would never understand why he didn’t just tell his parents that he needed a new phone, or why he insisted they pay their own bills.  His parents were more than willing to hand over money whenever Liam asked, he was just too stupid and stubborn to do it.

“Ms. Byrne, were you going to come out here and earn your paycheck, or are we going to have to terminate our agreement from here on out?”

Loren felt a flash of anger at Liam; she wouldn’t have to do this extra work, or any work at all, if he would just man up and take money from his parents.  She shook her head and put her phone back into her bag. “I’m coming, Miss Poole. Family crisis.”

“I don’t want to know, but I assure you,” she whispered into her ear as she passed, “if you upset one or more of my students like that ever again, you will be fired and I will make sure a letter is placed in your file.” Loren turned shocked eyes on the teacher. “I’m not sure how the head of the dance school will feel about having a trouble maker applying for their advanced program.”  Her eyes were hard as an evil smirk crossed her face. “Now, please take your place and drop your robe.”

Loren let her mind wander the entire class period.   She knew her body was fidgeting a bit because the teacher kept snapping at her to hold still.  What a bitch. That woman really just needed to get laid. Her eyes kept being drawn back to the clock, counting down the minutes until she could escape.  Until she could go find Liam and make everything right.  She knew that she could convince him that Zayn was a liar; she had Liam so wrapped around her finger, she could probably even get him to beat up the other lad. Yes, she would definitely get him to do that after Zayn humiliated her today.

She hurried towards the flat, but stopped when she realized that Liam would be at work now.  Technically, she wasn’t allowed back until the following night when her suspension was over, but she couldn’t believe they would deny her seeing the owner’s son, her fiancé.  She changed course and headed up to the door of the club, stopping suddenly when Paul blocked her path.

“You are not to return until tomorrow,” he told her, arms crossed over his chest as he glared down at her.

“I’m not here to work. I’m here to see Liam.” She put her hands on her hips and gave back as hard a glare as she was being given, but that just caused Paul to roll his eyes.

“Even if he was here, you wouldn’t be allowed in to see him.” He turned away. “Sleeping with the owner’s son doesn’t mean you are above the rules, it just means you should know them.”  

“What do you mean ‘if he was here’. It’s Monday, he always works Monday.” She tried very hard to keep the harsh edge out of her voice, but she knew that being coy was lost on Paul.

“Really?  You mean you don't know that your fiancé called in for the first time ever?  Hmmm, so observant of the man you're planning to spend the rest of your life with.”  Paul went back into the club, and Calvin soon came out to take his place.

Loren could work with Calvin, she’d seen him looking at her when she danced. She batted her eyelashes and ran a hand over his chest. Before she could even open her mouth, he gently grasped her wrist and pulled her hand away from him.  “Go home.”

“Fine!” she huffed and turned on her heel.  She was getting sick of this place and the people who worked there disrespecting her. The first thing she was going to do when things were settled with Liam was to either quit and have him support her fully, or if he refused that, she would make sure everyone else here was fired.

She tried to call Liam again as she walked back to the flat. The call went straight to voicemail. Again.  Her anger grew every time it happened. If Liam cared about her at all, he would always make it possible for her to get ahold of him. If he really cared about her, he would have let her know he’d called into work.

Suddenly she wondered if maybe he’d called into work because she’d come home early.  Maybe he had a romantic night planned for them, an evening in to make up for him allowing her to be suspended. He loved making up for his mistakes and she loved every time that he did it; feeling, at least for a little while, that she truly had made the right decision in agreeing to marry him.

It didn’t take her long to get back to the flat and she let herself in, calling for Liam but receiving no answer. She looked into the kitchen, but it was empty, a couple of dirty dishes in the sink.  Walking through the living room, she saw nothing out of the ordinary.  It was when she reached the bedroom and saw Liam’s drawers slightly pulled out and the bed a mess that she began to worry. She looked in the closet and noticed his gym bag was gone. She heaved a sigh of relief. He was at the gym, of course he was. Even when he was sick, that daft boy would head to the gym.

She thought about settling in to wait for him, but then decided she didn't want to give anyone else the chance to get to him before her. She didn’t know if Zayn knew who Liam was or if he just knew that she was engaged.  For all she knew, that little tramp Ella would seek him out and tell him everything.  Loren pulled her coat back on and headed downstairs.  She checked the parking garage and saw that Liam’s car was gone.

She reached the gym and looked around, but didn’t see Liam’s car.  She went inside and saw a woman standing behind the desk.  She had black hair and thick lips, her eyes heavily lined. Very pretty. If she’d known there were such pretty women at the gym, she wouldn’t have been letting Liam go alone.

“‘Allo. My name's Jesy! How can I help you?” the woman greeted, a bright as sun smile on her face.

“I’m looking for someone. Liam Payne?”

“I’m sorry, we can’t give out information on members.”  She gave a shrug.

“I’m his fiancé-”

“Then you should know where he’s at better than I.” The phone rang and Jesy picked it up, turning her back on Loren completely.

“Bitch,” she spit out at the girl who simply gave her a longfellow salute over her shoulder.

Loren left the gym, trying to think where else Liam could possibly be.  She dialed Niall’s number and waited until he answered. “What do you want?”

“Hello to you, too, Niall,” she purred, ignoring his snort of disgust. “Is my LiLiBear with you?”

“No,” Niall said and hung up the phone.  Loren pulled it away from her ear, staring at it in shock.  Had that fucker actually hung up on her?

She dialed his number again. "What do you want?" he snapped.

"Did you just hang up on me?" she growled at him.

"I don't know. Did it sound like this?" And he hung up on her again. She could almost imagine his obnoxious laughter as he did. She would definitely be talking to Liam about his poor choice in friends.

She sat in her car, trying to decide where she should try next. She dialed Liam’s number, but again it went straight to voicemail. She looked around and saw the coffee shop that she and Liam had stopped at earlier.  She could use something to eat, having skipped breakfast because of the weird barista earlier.  As she got out of the car, she just hoped that his shift was over and she could get some decent service.

Opening the door, she looked over at the counter and let out an actual groan when she saw who was behind the counter. “Louis.”

“Slag,” he responded, getting a smack to the back of the head from the barista that had insulted her earlier.

“We don’t talk to customers like-” He stopped when he saw who was at the door. “Never mind.”

Loren stayed in the doorway, staring down the two behind the counter. She opened her mouth and snapped it shut before turning to exit again.  She could feel their eyes on her back and she picked up her pace, feeling uncomfortable.

She pulled her phone out and tried Liam again. Same result. Straight to voicemail.  She tried to call Erin, but her friend didn’t answer either, probably working.  Standing on the sidewalk, she looked around her and couldn't think of anywhere else to check, maybe Liam had gone to his parents.  She thought about calling them, but she’d already dealt with enough people being rude to her, she didn’t need to add those two to the list.

She started walking, not even thinking about where she was going, just kept moving. Her mind went from thought to thought. She remembered when she first met Liam and how awkward he was.  She’d completely ignored him the first time he'd tried to talk to her, but quickly warmed up after Perrie had let slip that his parents owned the Mirage chain.  Their first few dates were standard and she kept waiting for him to pull out the big guns, spoil her with his parents' money.  It never happened, but she realized that she could get Liam to do whatever she liked with a minimum of effort, so she stayed with him.

It was easier to say yes than no when he proposed.  She’d had to hold herself back from sneering at the ring he’d paid nothing for; judging him for not thinking she was important enough to invest money in a new ring. She finally decided that if she was patient, eventually the clubs would be Liam’s and the money he was refusing now would be theirs.  Liam was a nice guy, and he treated her like gold, so there were worse people she could be stuck with.

She shook herself out of her revelry when she realized where she was.  The building stood in front of her and she looked up to the windows.  Someone came out of the main door and she raced to grab it before it closed.  She made her way slowly up the stairs and stopped outside the door, leaning to listen and hearing the television, so someone was home. She knocked gently, but got no response.  She started to knock again, but decided to try the knob instead, finding it unlocked.  She let herself in and closed the door quietly behind her.  When she turned around to head into the living room, she couldn’t believe what she found.

Liam.

And Zayn.

Together.

“What the fuck is going on here?!” she screeched.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't hate me. Next update is scheduled for Tuesday.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, we meet again. It's Tuesday and I have survived my busy week and I'm here to update again. Reactions to my last chapter were not good and it was a pretty rough weekend for me because of it, but I am back and I'm sure (hoping) that people will like this chapter more.
> 
> Feel free to contact me on [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/JolynnMG) or [Tumblr](http://josjournal.tumblr.com). I love hearing from people, I really do.
> 
> Thanks to Jess for the beta and just generally being wonderful and supportive. I don't know what I would do without you, girl.
> 
> Don't know 'em, don't own 'em, don't show 'em.

“What the fuck is going on here?”

Zayn and Liam pulled away from each other, both turning to look over the back of the couch to a red-faced Loren.  Nothing was said for several minutes, but Zayn could feel the tremble in the hand Liam still had wrapped around the back of his neck.  He turned away from the furious woman in his hallway to look at the man whose mouth had just been attached to his.  “Li?” he whispered when Liam remained frozen, not even blinking.

“Liam James Payne!” Loren screeched, and that seemed to snap Liam out of his trance. He jumped to his feet and Zayn was afraid he was going to race over to her, but he just kept staring at her.

“What are you doing here?” he finally asked, his voice not as weak as either of the other two had expected.  Zayn was almost impressed by the small amount of venom that dripped off the words.

“What am _I_ doing here? What are _you_ doing here?” Loren’s voice was raising even more in volume and pitch. “Oh, never mind, I already know what you were doing. You were cheating on me! You fucking bastard!”

Zayn’s jaw dropped when he took in her words. Liam had cheated. Liam had cheated with Zayn.  All those times of telling Liam he would never have gotten together with someone if he’d know they were involved flashed through his brain. He’d done just that.  He’d knowingly participated in an affair.  His chest started rising and falling and he could feel the curry he’d eaten starting to tap dance in his stomach.

Liam snorted. “You cheated on me first!” He knew it was a childish argument, but his attention was more focused on Zayn, whose face had paled, sweat breaking out along his hairline.  

“You cheated on me with a man!” Loren argued, shocked. She hadn’t even had any idea that Liam was even remotely attracted to men.

“So did you!” Liam shouted back, again with the childish arguments, but he was just done with her being pissed off at him all the time.  He was done with her acting like she’d done nothing wrong.

“Is this some kind of sick revenge then? I didn’t even know you two knew each other!” She threw her hands in the air and started to pace in the small opening of the hallway.  Liam just watched her, confused.  Suddenly she practically leaped across the room at Zayn, reaching over the back of the couch and grabbing him by the collar. “That’s what it is. Ella told you about Liam. You found him and seduced him just to humiliate me! You preyed on his poor, stupid-”

Liam stumbled back as Zayn grabbed Loren’s wrists and shoved her off of him.  “He is not stupid! He is not an idiot!  He is none of the horrible things you say to or about him!”   Zayn was standing now and hissing at Loren, tears streaming down his cheeks.  Liam reached out a hand, but Zayn backed away and ran down the hall, locking himself in the bathroom.  He slid to the floor and emptied his stomach into the bin, not even able to make it to the toilet.

Loren stared after Zayn, shocked at his outburst.  Liam started to go after him, but she reached out and grabbed his arm. “LiLi…” her tone was pleading and it grated on his nerves.

Liam shook her hand off his arm and turned to face her, his eyes harder than she’d ever seen them.  “What, Loren?  What do you have to say now?" His voice wasn't angry. It was cold. It was even. It was something Loren hadn't ever heard from him before. It was the voice that Zayn had used when he’d thrown her out of the flat.

She tried to touch him again, tried to keep her voice warm and friendly, the way Liam always responded positively to. "It's not your fault, baby. He's so persuasive. It's what he does." If she could convince Liam that everything was Zayn's fault, she could get him to come home and forget everything.

Liam blinked at her, opening and closing his mouth a few times, not sure where to even start. Finally he just burst out laughing. "It's _his_ fault? He's to blame for you cheating on me for over two months? For lying to me every day so that you could be with him." Liam couldn't stop the bitter laughter. He only stopped when he heard more retching from the bathroom.

"Are you trying to convince me that, somehow, the best person I’ve met in a long time, is to blame because you couldn't be faithful?" He had a cruder comment on the tip of his tongue, but held it back.  No need to stoop completely to her level.

Loren started to argue. "That's not what I was saying..." She trailed off when Liam snorted loudly. She realized she was going to have to take a different approach to this argument. When defensive didn't work, it was best to go on the offensive. Focus more on Liam's place in all this. "If you'd just-"

"Oh, so now you are going to try and convince me that you cheating on me was all _my_ fault.  How _I_ drove you into the arms of another man!” He threw his hands in the air and turned to follow Zayn.

“Liam,” she tried again, her voice a little more firm.  “Why are you being so mean to me?”

His eyes nearly rolled out of his head with exasperation as he turned back towards her, taking in her pouty mouth and the dampness in her eyes.  For a split second, he could feel his heart soften, but then he heard another gag and sob from the bathroom and his anger flared again.  “Honestly, I don’t think I’m being mean enough. You need to go home.”

Loren’s eyes brightened up. “Home? You’ll come with me? We’ll work this all out?” She took a few steps closer to him, but he backed away, holding his hands up defensively.  “Why won’t you even try to work this out?  Why won’t you just talk to me?”

“There’s nothing left to say, Loren.” He blinked rapidly when he realized the deep truth of his statement.

“I make one little mistake and you’re tossing me away?” He could see the corner of her mouth starting to turn up in a sneer and he knew the insults were coming. “Well, I’m sorry we can’t all be as perfect as ‘heir to the nudie throne’, Liam Payne!” she snapped.

“You weren’t complaining about me being the heir to anything when you were demanding more and more money from me! You didn’t complain when you got to live in a gorgeous flat for less than an efficiency! Now, you complain when you see it all slipping away.”  Liam let out the coldest laugh he’d ever heard from himself.

“Slipping away?” Was he really saying what she thought he was saying?

“I can’t do this anymore.” His voice suddenly just sounded tired.

“Do this?” She knew she was sounding like a parrot, but she was at a complete loss for words.

Liam took a deep breath before launching into the speech, he didn't want to admit, he'd been preparing in his head for a few days now. “I can’t live with someone who spends every day making me feel like less than myself.  Who makes me think that I don’t deserve anything more than they are willing to give me, even if it’s just the scraps of their attention.  Who doesn’t support me and my decisions because they might make their life just a little bit harder than they would like.” He shook his head as every word he spoke drove the truth home for him.

Loren felt every word like a physical blow; she knew she had no argument, but she opened her mouth and let the words spew out anyway. “You’re just too damn stubborn!” she yelled at him. “Your parents are willing to give you everything and you keep saying ‘no’. You _want_ your life to be difficult.”

“Because I know that one day it could all be gone and I don’t want to be at a loss as to how to survive." He remembered money being tight when he was a kid; before the clubs and the early years before they became successful. He remembered all of the people who suddenly wanted to be his friend when his clothes started looking nicer and he had a newer car. He rolled his eyes at himself for not seeing the similarities before.

"I know now that I don’t want to waste my time with someone who wants to be with my bank account more than with me.”  He was so over this conversation, his attention on the bathroom where it had become eerily silent.

“So, what are you saying?” Loren was hoping if she kept him talking, he'd say something she could use to get him back on her side. Back to being her easily manipulated LiLiBear.

Liam laughed and he knew he shouldn’t say the first thing he thought of, but he couldn’t help himself. “How fucking stupid are you? I’m saying that we are done. I’m saying that you need to go get all of your stuff out of _my_ flat, leaving anything that you didn’t come into this relationship with, and go.  You have until tomorrow night. If you’re not gone, I will make sure that building security removes you.”

He turned away from her and took a step towards the bathroom before turning back to face her. He glanced at her hand, noticing that, once again, her finger was bare. “If my grandmother’s ring is not sitting on my kitchen table when I return, you will be arrested for theft.”

Loren gaped, trying to move to him, but he backed away. “LiLi, you’re upset. You don’t mean any of this.”

“Loren, I’m not upset. I’m fucking done.” She gasped; Liam rarely swore and never at her.  “I mean every word. Now leave. I know you’ve been kicked out of this flat twice already this week, so let’s make this your third strike.  Don’t ever come back here.” He crossed to the front door of the flat and opened it, giving her a hard look.

She dropped her head to her chest, defeated. “Where am I supposed to go?”

“Not my problem.”

“My job?”

Liam let his head fall back against the wall, knowing he had to be careful; Loren wouldn't be above a sexual harassment claim, he was sure. “Your employment and our relationship are not connected.  When we see each other at the club, you will be professional and all will be good.  If you choose to start attacking me or any of the other dancers, well, you already have two strikes against you. You know the rules.” He pointed out the door.  “Now go, you are running out of time to vacate _my_ flat.”

She stepped into the doorway and turned to look at him. “That’s it? You don’t have anything else to say to me? No more cheap digs.” She didn’t have to work very hard to bring tears to her eyes. She was so angry with Liam, and so afraid of what she was going to do next.

For the first time, her tears didn’t make him soften, they made him angrier. He couldn't resist the first thought that came to his mind, finally deciding to stop holding back all the time. “Nothing about me is cheap, but everything about you is.” He shook his head and started to close the door in her face, but stopped and held up a finger. “No, you know what, there is one more thing I have to say.” Her face became hopeful. “Thank you.”

Her eyes narrowed in confusion.  “For?”

“Thank you for cheating on me with the greatest man I’ve ever met. If you hadn’t, we wouldn’t have met; I wouldn't have gotten to have the two greatest kisses of my entire life." He smirked at her shocked glance. "If you will excuse me, I’ve now got to go convince him to come out of the bathroom so, hopefully, I can get some more of those kisses."

She opened her mouth to respond, but was greeted by the door slamming in her face.  She stood there, waiting for Liam to come to his senses, waited for the door to open; instead, she heard the locks turn before leaning her ear against the door. Footsteps faded away and a knock sounded deep in the apartment. Liam spoke Zayn’s name quietly. She banged on the door with her fist once more before shoving herself away and storming towards the lift.

Zayn laid on the floor, his forehead pressed to the cool tiles. His stomach was still spasming, but there was nothing left for him to expel.  He could hear Liam and Loren’s voices raising and falling, but could only make out about half of the words.  He heard the front door slam and started to push himself to his feet, assuming that they were both gone, off to fix things. Off to share their common stories of cheating on each other with Zayn Malik.

His arms slipped out from under him and he smacked his chin on the edge of the tub when he heard a quiet knock and Liam calling his name. “Fuck,” he muttered as blood filled his mouth from where he’d bitten his tongue.  “Fuck,” he said again, spitting blood onto the floor.

“Zayn?” Liam said again, his voice worried. “What’s wrong? Can you unlock the door?”

“Fuck,” Zayn repeated pushing himself up on the edge of the counter, spitting more blood into the sink while filling a glass with water.  He rinsed his mouth and spit, feeling sick at the amount of blood in the sink. He stuck his tongue out and saw the bite in the mirror; it wasn’t very big, but was still bleeding a lot. “Fuck.”

“Zayn, seriously. I can hear you. If you don’t open the door, I’m going to break it down.”

“You’ll have to pay for it if you do,” he mumbled as he reached to open the door and allow Liam in.

Liam leaned in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest. “My parents can afford it,” he said with a smirk, surprising himself with how easy it was to joke with Zayn about a subject that had always been a sensitive one for him.  “Or I’ll just use my comic money and start borrowing yours.” He saw the blood on Zayn’s lower lip. “What happened?”

“Slipped and bit my tongue.” Liam gently grasped the side of his head and lifted it to look at his chin, gently touching the bruise that was forming, causing Zayn to wince. “Fuck.”

Liam moved Zayn to the couch, forcing him to sit down. He rummaged through Zayn’s freezer and came back with a package of frozen corn, holding it to his chin.  He forced Zayn’s mouth open and looked at his tongue. “Looks like the bleeding is slowing down, should be fine.”

Zayn pulled away, taking the corn in his own hand and sliding to the other end of the couch. He curled his legs up, creating a barrier between the two of them, refusing to look Liam in the eye. Liam reached out, dropping his hand when Zayn flinched.

“Did I do something wrong?” Liam asked, confused.  He knew that Loren coming here was upsetting and he was sure listening to the breakup had to be hard on Zayn, but he was acting as if Liam was going to hit him.

“Yes. No. I mean, you did, but I did, too.  I just…” Zayn was getting worked up again and Liam wasn’t sure how to stop him without touching him.

“Full sentences, Zee,” he said quietly.  “What do you think you did wrong?”

Zayn took a deep breath, trying to think how to put it into words. “I was the other man,” he finally settled on.

Liam chuckled. “We already established that when we met, but you didn’t know you were and as soon as you found out that you were, you ended it.”

“Not with her. With you,” Zayn interrupted. “I was the other man with you.”

Liam’s eyes widened as he finally understood what Zayn was saying. “Because I kissed you while I was still technically with Loren?” Zayn nodded, tears springing to his eyes. “What happened between us is so different-”

“Cheating is cheating, Liam. You cheated and I cheated with you, knowing you were engaged! Engaged!  Now you're sitting here, being all sweet to me, while your fiancé is off doing who knows what.” Zayn curled up tighter, holding his stomach, waiting to feel the dry heaves start again.

“Well, my _ex_ -fiancé should be on her way to _my_ flat to move out her stuff because I just kicked her to the curb.” Liam couldn’t help the small smirk that curled his lips as Zayn’s jaw dropped.

“Honestly, I was done with her a week ago, I just couldn’t force myself to make it happen.” He rubbed his hands through his hair, trying to figure out how to fix this. “Today, when she started yelling at us, when her anger included you, I couldn’t stand by anymore.”

Zayn pressed his face into his knees. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.  I wish I’d never met her. I wish  I’d never agreed to go out with her.”  Liam laughed and Zayn looked up at him. “What’s so funny?” He wiped at his eyes as Liam continued laughing.

“I think the best thing that ever happened to me was Loren meeting you,” he told Zayn.  “If she hadn’t, we probably would never have met.  I know it’s a shit situation, but if I come out the other side with you, I count it as a win.”

“With me?” Zayn was confused.

He sighed.  He didn’t regret kissing Zayn, he would never regret that, but he did regret the position he’d unthinkingly put him in. “I know I made you the other man.  I did to you what Loren did, but the difference is that I wasn’t thinking of you as the other man.” Zayn was still looking at him as if he was speaking another language. “I was thinking of you as _the_ man. The only man.  The only person.” Liam’s voice grew softer and he inched closer as he spoke, finally reaching out and placing a hand on Zayn’s knee.

“Really?” Liam nodded and Zayn uncurled his body until his feet were flat on the ground.  He intertwined their fingers and squeezed.  “So...that kiss earlier…”

Liam laughed loudly before leaning in and pressing his mouth against Zayn’s while whispering, “The first of very, very many, I hope.”  

Zayn pressed into the kiss and responded with, “It really was nice to meet you.”

 

 

 

 

 


	19. Chapter Nineteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of the wonderful comments on the last chapter. You guys really gave me good feelings for the week.
> 
> Thank you to Jess for being an awesome beta. She got this chapter back to me TWO DAYS AGO and I fought the urge to post early because I am dreading the end of this story. Only two more updates after today.
> 
> Yeah...most of my interesting notes on this chapter will be at the end.
> 
> Please come and say hi to me on [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/JolynnMG) and [Tumblr](http://josjournal.tumblr.com).
> 
> Don't know 'em, don't own 'em, don't show 'em.

Zayn and Liam’s alarms went off simultaneously the next morning, causing two identical groans from the boys who were curled together in Zayn’s bed.  They both reached out from under the blankets to grab their phones from the nightstands where they’d left them.  After patting around for several seconds, two heads popped up from under the covers, only to be met by the curious eyes of their best friends.

Niall and Louis stood at the foot of the bed, each holding their respective best mate’s phone. When they realized they had their attention, they shut the alarms off and jumped onto the bed.  As soon as they landed, the bed rocked dangerously and Liam reached out to keep Zayn from falling off the side. Louis started to pull back the blankets, but then his whole body froze. “You two aren’t naked under there, are you?” A horrified look crossed Niall’s face.

“No,” Zayn mumbled, rubbing his hands over his face. “What are you two doing here anyway?”

Liam was shaking his head, amazed that Zayn was so calm about the other two boys climbing all over the bed.  Now that Louis and Niall knew the occupants of the bed were clothed, they made their way underneath the blanket.  Louis laid next to Zayn, Niall next to Liam, Liam and Zayn smooshed together in the center of the bed.  

“Don’t think this bed is made for four people,” Liam muttered when he realized that nobody was moving.

Louis laughed and reached across Zayn to smack Liam. “It’s cozy.”  He pressed a messy kiss to Zayn’s cheek. “Anyway, I only have about a half hour until I have to be to work, so just give us the highlights.”

“The highlights of…?” Zayn asked, shoving Louis away as he curled closer to Liam, burying his face in his chest.

“Of yesterday after you left Hazza’s. You two just disappeared on us. No phone calls. No texts,” Niall scolded mockingly, giving a shake of his head.

“And you didn’t get the hint?” Liam asked, grabbing Louis’ arm before he could smack him again. He held onto him, leaving his side open for Zayn to attack him in tickles.  It took only moments for the entire group to devolve into a tickling mass, punctuated with screaming and cursing; mostly from Louis, who seemed to receive the brunt of the attacks.

“Uncle!!!” Louis finally shouted and they all fell back against the bed, panting.  “Don’t ever do that again,” he snapped, which, of course, led to the whole thing starting all over again.  Finally, Louis managed to throw himself out of the bed and away from the poking fingers.  He stood bent over, hands on knees, panting, as he glared at the other three. “I hate you all.”

“You love us,” Niall responded, crawling over Liam and Zayn to throw himself bodily at Louis, pressing a big kiss to his forehead.

“Off. Off.  You are so not my type!” Louis screamed, pushing Niall so that he landed on top of the other two on the bed, causing them both to groan in pain as their bits were crushed by the flying leprechaun.  

“No, that would be your boss, right?” Niall said with a cheeky smile as he tried to maneuver himself between Liam and Zayn. “You should have seen those two making eyes at each other all night long.  It was disgusting.” He pretended to gag and Louis flipped him off.

“Are you quite finished?” Louis snapped and the blond just nodded his head, still smiling and giggling.  “Now, can we please hear what happened with you two?”

Liam and Zayn exchanged a look over Niall’s head.  Liam raised his eyebrows.  Zayn gave a one shoulder shrug and a slight twist of his lips before nodding his head once.  “Alright, really?” Niall asked. “Silent conversations already. You guys cannot be pulling that couple-y crap!”

“Couple?” Louis pounced on the word.

“Maybe?” Liam asked, looking at Zayn again. They’d been up pretty late the night before, talking, mostly. Well, talking and kissing and other, completely clothed, stuff. All the talking didn’t involve them naming what was happening between them, though. “I mean…” he tried to backtrack, not sure how Zayn was feeling. He knew the boy had still been feeling a bit guilty about kissing Liam while he was technically still with Loren.

“Wouldn’t be so bad,” Zayn said softly and Liam’s eyes crinkled when he smiled. “In fact, it might be quite nice.” Liam leaned over Niall to press a kiss to Zayn’s lips, laughing when he was stopped by the blond’s hand.  

“None of that while I’m right here.” He pointed at his current position between the two of them.  

“Shit,” Louis muttered. “I have to go to work and I’ve learned nothing!” He threw his hands in the air.  “Being an adult sucks,” he said with a pout, causing the other three to laugh.

Niall jumped off the bed. “I’ll walk you to work so I can steal a scone or two from Harry.”

“No stealing,” Louis said, swatting him.  

The two in the bed laughed at their friends and glanced at each other, sharing a quick kiss before having another silent conversation which involved a few eyebrow wiggles and gestures towards the others. “How about we meet up with you at Hazza’s in about a half hour and we’ll buy you breakfast,” Liam said.

“And fill you in on the whole story,” Zayn added before Louis could open his mouth.

“Deal,” the two said before racing out of the room.  

Niall stuck his head back in. “A half hour or I’ll eat the entire store and tell Harry to put it on your tab, Liam.” He disappeared again and they heard the door slam.

“I am taking Louis’ key back,” Zayn muttered as he pushed himself up to sit, laughing when Liam pulled him back down next to him.  “We only have a half hour.”

“Ten minutes and then we dress quickly,” Liam muttered, nosing at the side of Zayn’s neck.  “You really okay with…”

Zayn looked thoughtful. “Makes a weird kind of sense, doesn’t it?” He nodded to himself. “Even if we didn’t give it a name, I wouldn’t be seeing anyone else.”  He started to giggle. “Haven’t really been seeing anyone except you all week.”  

Liam started to laugh as well. “I am so stupid,” he muttered. His laughter died when he saw the look on Zayn’s face. “What?”

“Please, don’t ever say that about yourself again.” He pressed a kiss to his lips, pushing Liam flat on the bed and moving to straddle him, still talking and giving him more kisses between words. “You.” Kiss. “Are.” Kiss. “The.” Kiss. “Most.” Kiss. “Amazing.” Kiss. “Person.” Kiss. He pulled back to look at him seriously. “And I don’t ever, ever want to hear you put yourself down again.” He moved to give him another quick kiss, but Liam grabbed him by the back of the neck and held him in place, deepening the kiss.

“We are going to be late,” he whispered decisively against Zayn’s mouth, smiling when the other boy chuckled.

"Niall is going to eat you out of your comic money for the next two months." Zayn pressed a kiss to the underside of Liam’s chin before moving down to the birthmark on his neck that already had a nice shade of red surrounding it from the night before.

"I'll just borrow yours." He ran his fingers through Zayn’s messy hair before using a gentle grip to pull his face back up to his, pressing their lips together, not wanting to stop savouring the taste of the other boy.

Zayn pulled back and looked down at him, his eyebrows arched in a cocky manner. "What's in it for me?"

"I'm sure I can come up with something." Liam gave him a deeper kiss before wrapping his arms around Zayn and quickly flipping them, pressing him into the mattress, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Liam kissed down the side of Zayn's neck before reaching the collar of his shirt. He took it between his teeth tugging at it and growling playfully. A warm feeling spread through him as Zayn chuckled and ran a hand over Liam's hair, tugging gently on the ends, causing Liam's eyes to shut and his mouth to fall lax. Zayn's collar snapped back into place.

Liam's eyes fluttered open as Zayn cupped his cheek, their gazes locked on each other before pressing their lips together again.  Zayn was content to spend the entire day like this, having finally tasted Liam's kisses, he couldn't get enough. He whimpered when Liam pulled away, his gaze serious.  

"What?" Zayn whispered as he tried to lean in again, but Liam held him back, his face still set. Liam pulled his lower lip between his teeth, his cheeks pinking before his gaze fell.

"Babe, what's wrong?"

Liam's voice was barely a whisper and Zayn strained to hear him. "I want..." he trailed off and cleared his throat. When he continued, his voice was clearer, but no louder. "I want to taste you." He buried his face into Zayn's chest, the other boy feeling the burn of his cheeks through the fabric of the Batman shirt he'd stolen off of Liam the night before. "That was so cheesy. Straight out of bad porn or something."

Liam couldn't remember having ever been so embarrassed in his life and he wondered if he could curl up under the blankets and never leave. He finally turned his head so that he could catch his breath, his ear pressed to Zayn's chest, his heartbeat rapid. Then he felt laughter beneath him and he dared to look up at Zayn, who was giving him a broad grin.

" _Bad_ porn? Are you trying to warn me about your abilities or lack thereof?" Liam huffed out a breath before leaning forward to nip at Zayn's chest, tugging the edge of the Batman logo with his teeth.

He slid his hands down Zayn's sides until he reached the hem of the shirt before pushing it up to reveal his tattoo covered abs. He traced the ink with first his fingertips and then his tongue, the sleep warmed taste of Zayn’s skin overwhelming him. He sucked a small bruise over the "I" in the crude "Don't think I won't" just above the waistband of his joggers.

Zayn watched Liam, sensing both his desire and his hesitation. He grit his teeth and bit back a low moan as Liam bit at the black heart tattooed on his waist. Their eyes met as Liam tugged gently at the elastic of his joggers. Zayn opened his mouth to speak, but he could only manage a small nod.

Liam felt the skin at the corner of his eyes crinkle as he grinned at Zayn, hooking his fingers into his joggers and pants, pulling them both down and off at the same time. He knew if he'd hesitated or taken it slower, he would have talked himself out of it. As it was, he felt his breath freeze in his chest as he looked down at the half-naked boy in front of him.

Zayn saw the moment panic began to settle over Liam. He held his own breath as Liam stared at him, unmoving.  After a minute, Zayn began to shift uncomfortably under his gaze and reached for the sheet to cover himself, feeling terribly exposed.

His movement snapped Liam out of his daze. He reached over and yanked the sheet away. "No," he whispered. "I'm sorry...it's just..."

A thought struck Zayn then. "Oh, fuck. It's your first time, isn't it?"  Liam couldn't hold back his snort of amusement. "I meant - with a bloke."

Liam shook his head as he leaned over to place a kiss between Zayn's confused eyes. He moved to place a kiss to the tip of Zayn's nose, nipping at it a little to make Zayn laugh again. He pressed a kiss to his lips, quick and gentle, before pulling back to look into his eyes again.

Liam tried to put into words what was going on inside of his brain, but every time he tried, there was a roadblock between his head and mouth. He could see the confusion, discomfort and, worst of all, hurt flashing behind the other boy's hazel eyes.

"You can tell me anything, Leeyum." Zayn lifted a hand to trace over Liam's eyebrow and down his cheek before brushing against his lips gently. "I hope you know that."

Liam nodded as words escaped him again. He was beginning to feel like the biggest idiot. He was afraid if he didn't open his mouth soon, Zayn was going to grow tired of him and kick him out of his bed. His flat. His life.

Liam felt the tightness in his chest and cursed himself for letting the anxiety start now. He felt Zayn's hands run up and down his back, heard his quiet voice making comforting nonsensical sounds. He felt his chest loosening and he pressed his forehead to Zayn's, chuckling when he tried to look him in the eye at such a close range. "Thank you," he whispered.

"I've got you," Zayn told him. "Whenever you need me. I've got you." He pressed his lips to his. "We don't have to do this.  We can just head to Hazza's..." he trailed off when Liam started shaking his head.

"I want to do this," he told Zayn, his voice determined. Zayn quirked an eyebrow at him. "I do. I just..." He ran a hand over his face. "Do you even know how gorgeous you are?"

It was Zayn's turn to blush. "What?" He tugged his shirt down and Liam swatted his hand away, pushing it back up to reveal more of his chest. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to the lips tattooed there, brushing his tongue over them briefly as he pulled away.  

"It's a bit overwhelming, really," he whispered as he pressed another kiss to the top of his abs. He trailed light kisses down until he dipped his tongue briefly into Zayn's navel, tickling him and smiling when he laughed.

Liam glanced up and saw the concern in Zayn's eyes, but the teeth digging into his lip indicated the other look in his eyes was definitely arousal. He took a deep breath before he leaned back in, the head of Zayn's cock bumping his chin when he placed his next kiss. He rubbed his fingers at the precome  left there before snaking his tongue out to lick them clean, a quick taste of the other man for the first time.

Zayn ran a hand through his own hair, pulling on the ends to force himself to look at the ceiling. If he kept watching Liam, this was going to be over embarrassingly quickly.  He thought it just might be anyway as Liam licked tentatively from base to tip. He felt Liam breathe over his wet skin before gasping and uncontrollably arching his back as Liam, finally, took him into his mouth.

"Sorry. Sorry," Zayn muttered, terrified he had choked the boy, but Liam hummed around him before taking him slowly deeper, his tongue tracing patterns on the underside of his cock. Liam settled into his elbows, wrapping his right hand around what he couldn't fit into his mouth and using his left to rub gently against Zayn's thigh.

Liam opened his eyes and glanced up to see Zayn's head thrown back, the tendons tight, quiet sounds escaping him.  After a particularly hard suck to just the head, Zayn finally looked up and locked eyes with him. "Leeyum," he moaned out, his hand going into Liam's hair, not pulling, just something to hold onto as he felt the world around him begin to shatter.

Liam was so hard, just from having Zayn in his mouth, that he had to rub against the mattress for any relief.  He could feel himself soaking through his pants and for a moment was distracted by a certain obnoxious voice in his head complaining about how wet he always got, like he had any control over it. He tried to shake the voice out, causing Zayn to yelp a bit and he looked back at him apologetically before pulling off to press a gentle kiss to his slit, licking away the blurb of precome that caused.

"Can you-" Liam started, but cut himself off to take Zayn back into his mouth, already mentally chastising himself for losing focus.

Zayn looked at Liam's squeezed-shut eyes and recognized the tension on his face. He had no idea why, but he knew who the other boy was suddenly thinking of. He tugged gently on his hair, forcing Liam off his cock and pulling him up to look him in the face. "Can I, what?"

Liam tried to pull away, but realized quickly that Zayn wasn't letting it go. He tried to open his mouth, but couldn't find the right words. Zayn watched his struggle. "Can I kiss you?" Zayn asked before pressing his lips gently to Liam's. When Liam didn't really respond, Zayn continued, "Can I touch you?" He slid his hand out of Liam's hair and onto his cheek, hesitating only a moment before sliding down Liam's chest, over the Captain America shield.

He slid his hand lower, cupping Liam through his pants. He looked down at his hand, squeezing gently, before looking Liam in the eyes. "You're so wet," he breathed out, his voice awed. "Did you..?"

Liam shook his head and tried to pull away, but Zayn grabbed the waistband of his pants in a tight grip, following Liam's body with his own. "Hey...hey...it's okay," Zayn soothed. "It's kind of hot, actually."

Liam's eyes shot up to meet his and he could see the hesitation and surprise in them. "Really?" Zayn nodded, sliding his hand into Liam's pants and wrapping it loosely around him, the glide easy and warm. Liam's eyes fluttered shut on a groan.

"So hot knowing you get so turned on blowing me," Zayn told him, smiling when Liam shivered. He started to kiss Liam again, surprised when the boy pulled away. "What?"

"Can you keep talking?" Liam whispered, his eyes shut tight. "Make her voice go away." His words were choked and Zayn felt a fresh rush of anger.

"Yeah, babe. Anything for you," he said, pressing his mouth close to Liam's ear, making sure that his voice was getting into his head. He kept speaking, telling Liam how wonderful he was, how smart, how sexy.  

Eventually, he pushed Liam's pants down enough so he could take both of their cocks in hand, rubbing them in time with his words, slowly and steadily.  His stream of words died completely when Liam pushed him back down on the bed and took him back into his mouth.

Zayn put his hand in Liam's hair again and gasped out, "I can't keep talking. So close..." He trailed off as his hips bucked again and before he could apologize, he felt Liam press his hips firmly to the bed, holding him in place.

Liam focused on Zayn, letting the words he'd said fill his head as he licked and sucked. He tried to take him a little deeper each time he went down until he finally felt Zayn nudge the back of his throat.  Liam relaxed, taking him even further in, smirking internally when Zayn realized he had no gag reflex.

"Oh fuck, babe.  You were made for this. For my cock." He kept babbling praises to Liam who could feel his cheeks heating up as tears squeezed out. "Li, I'm gonna..." Zayn's voice was panicky and he pulled at Liam's hair.

Liam pulled up enough to keep just the head in his mouth. He sucked gently, flicking his tongue against Zayn's slit as he used his hand to milk the orgasm out, swallowing as much as he could.  When Zayn stopped trembling, Liam used his tongue to clean him up before swiping his fingers over the come that had dripped from his mouth and sucking it off his fingers.

Zayn's eyes were wide, but clouded as he watched Liam.  When their eyes met, Zayn choked out, "My comics are yours forever if you keep doing that."

Liam chuckled, his voice rough and, literally, fucked out. He rubbed at his slightly sore throat and beamed with pride at Zayn, who swatted his arm before moving to take Liam in his hand. It only took a few strokes before he was coming over Zayn's hand, messing up both of their shirts.

Liam collapsed on top of Zayn, pressing a kiss to his chin as he tried to catch his breath.  Zayn ran his clean hand over Liam’s back before picking his head up to look him in the eyes. “You are going to have a hell of a tab at Hazza’s.”  They fell into easy laughter as they prepared to get out bed and face their friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took me, literally, a month to write. It sat in the file looking like this:  
> [](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GCFt)  
> ([image](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GCFt))  
> I finally sat down to write the smut and would write one sentence and run away with a red face and not come back for hours or days. If it weren't for Jess, the story would have died because I couldn't write smut.
> 
> I hope it doesn't disappoint.
> 
> The last chapter is scheduled for Tuesday. The Epilogue for a week from today. :(


	20. Chapter Twenty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here we are. The last chapter (before the epilogue). When I first started writing, even when I first started posting, I never thought I would get this far without chickening out. I'm going to save all the mushy notes for the epilogue though. I do hope you enjoy this chapter though.
> 
> Please leave comments (I love them, I really do) or come visit me on [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/JolynnMG) or [Tumblr](http://josjournal.tumblr.com). 
> 
> A big thank you (again) to my beautiful beta Jess!
> 
> And as always: Don't know 'em, don't own 'em, don't show 'em.

It was closer to an hour when Liam and Zayn finally stumbled into Hazza’s, arms wrapped around each other and hair damp from a hurried shower. Harry greeted them with a cheer and a group hug, kisses to both of their cheeks. “That’s the couple I’ve been watching for a week now,” he exclaimed.  He pushed them over to their usual couch and brought them coffee and huge slices of rainbow layered cake.  Liam's eyes scrunched shut with glee when he saw the stripes in the cake.

“These are on the house, but you have quite a tab for Nialler,” he said, pointing to the blond who appeared to be in a food coma in one of the chairs.

“We can pay for all of it,” Liam said, but Harry waved a hand in his face as Louis came over with more coffees and dropped down next to Zayn on the couch, pressing him over until he was practically in Liam’s lap.  Harry dropped beside Louis.

“Nonsense. We’re celebrating you two,” Harry said. He raised his coffee cup, waiting until the others followed suit.  “To Zayn and Liam.”

“To Ziam,” threw in Louis, causing the others to laugh.

“You and your ship names,” Zayn told him, elbowing him gently.

Niall stood from the chair and dropped down, half on Zayn and half on Louis. “What the hell?” Louis screeched.

Niall shrugged. “Was feeling lonely,” he muttered, leaning back, pressing the other two into the couch. He fell back completely when Harry and Liam pulled the other boys into their laps.  “Ah, much better.” He looked at the others and then started fumbling with his phone. “Selfie time!”

Liam groaned.  He was used to Niall’s obsession with group selfies, but this was pushing his luck.  He didn’t argue when Zayn wrapped an arm around his neck and pulled him in closer.  Soon, the five of them were all squashed into the frame.  As soon as the shutter sounded, Louis pressed a sloppy kiss to Niall’s cheek, causing the boy to jump off the couch and retreat to his previous spot.

A few moments later, all their phones beeped with an incoming message from Niall; he’d sent the image to them all.  Zayn smiled at it and set it as his lock screen. When he looked over, he saw Liam was doing the same, except he’d zoomed in so that just his and Zayn’s faces were showing.  When Liam saw him watching, he blushed and ducked his head.  Zayn leaned over to press a kiss to his temple.

The group spent another couple of hours at the coffee shop, each pitching in to help out Harry and Louis as needed when the lunch crowd came in.  When the place had mostly cleared out, Zayn and Liam curled together on the couch, whispering quietly.  “I’ve got to go to work soon,” Liam said on a sigh. “I already missed one night, I really shouldn’t miss another.”

Zayn pouted out his lower lip, making Liam laugh and pinch it between his fingers before pressing a kiss to it.  Niall gagged playfully from behind the counter where he was helping himself to a piece of chocolate cake.  Zayn flipped him off before snuggling back into Liam, tightening his arms around him.  He really didn’t want to let him go just yet.

"You could...you could come with me. If you wanted," Liam said, his cheeks flushing. He refused to meet Zayn's eyes.

"Are you sure? I mean, won't..." he trailed off, not wanting to say her name. "Won't it be awkward for you? Or me? Us?"

Liam nodded. "You're probably right." He rubbed his hands over Zayn's back. "I guess I'll just see you after work. I mean, if you want to see me."

Zayn shoved him gently. "Of course I want to see you!" He stopped himself from teasing Liam by calling him a donut. He didn't want him taking it the wrong way.  "You'll come back to mine, yeah?"

Instead of answering, Liam pressed his lips to Zayn's. The kiss was light and gentle, but full of promise for more to come. When Liam pulled away, he rubbed his nose gently against Zayn's. "I don't want to leave you, but I have to go now.  I can't be late. What kind of example would I be setting?"

Louis and Harry finally pulled Zayn off of Liam and Niall grabbed Liam by the arm.  They started pulling the two boys away from each other, laughing when Liam got the better of Niall and tackled the other three to the ground.  Niall stood over them, throwing his hands in the air as he looked at the few customers left in the shop. “Kids these days! What can you do?”

Harry scrambled to his feet, blushing profusely. He extended apologies, but most of the patrons gave the group of boys fond smiles.  One older woman murmured, “This is why I come here. It makes me miss my grandsons a little less,” to the other woman with her.

After a few more minutes of snuggling up to Zayn and laughing at Louis who was crushed under them, Liam stood up and held out his hands to help the other two up.  “Harold!” Louis screeched. “Are you just going to let him get away with treating me like this!”

Harry’s head was buried in the display case, rearranging cookies.  “I’ll kiss it better later, Lou,” he said, distractedly.  Louis squeaked and Harry stood up so fast, he knocked his head on the top of the inside of the case.  “I mean…”

“And on that note, we have to get this young man to his job,” Niall said, pulling Liam towards the door again, shoving Zayn away playfully.  It had been decided that Niall would go hang out with Liam at work, just for the moral support through having to see Loren again.

As they walked to Liam’s car, still parked at Zayn’s, Niall kept nudging a smiling Liam.  “What?” Liam finally asked after the fifth bump.

“I like seeing that smile again, mate,” Niall told him.  “The one where your eyes get all crinkly. The real smile.”

Liam shook his head at his friend, but could feel the smile that Niall was talking about. He tried to force his mouth into a straight line. It was impossible.  Everytime he got close, he would think about Zayn and his smile would take over again. He even giggled a couple of times. Finally he shoved Niall gently and covered his face with both hands.  

“It’s a good thing, mate. Just enjoy it,” Niall told him, climbing into the car after Liam unlocked it. “Now, let’s go face the dragon.”

***

Zayn sat quietly on the couch, sipping at his coffee.  He had his sketchbook open on his lap, but the pencil was tucked behind his ear instead of moving across the paper.  Louis was sitting on the counter, much to Harry’s amusement and chagrin.  “Is he alright, Lou?”

Louis gave him a fond smile. “Yeah, this is good.  This is where he’s just enjoying it all.  He’s not overthinking.” He watched the corners of Zayn’s lips curl up into a smile before his tongue snuck out to lick his bottom lip.  “If his eyebrows start moving towards each other, that’s when we have to worry.”

“Do you think he’s a rebound?” Harry asked, choosing his words carefully and trying to pitch his voice low enough that Zayn wouldn’t hear. Now that he knew the whole story, he was concerned.

“And there go the eyebrows,” Louis snapped, giving Harry a glare. He hopped off the counter and moved to the couch. He slid himself under Zayn’s legs and put his feet in his lap, gripping Zayn’s ankles gently.

Zayn ignored Louis.  He pulled the pencil out from behind his ear and ran it over the page of the sketchbook in sweeping strokes.  He could feel the word “rebound” twisting inside his gut and he struggled to keep it from forcing out the food and coffee he’d already eaten.  His strokes became quicker, the pencil pressed harder against the page until the lead snapped. The broken pencil tip ripped a hole in the paper and Zayn fought the urge to throw it.

Louis reached over and plucked the pencil out of his tense fingers and set it on the table.  He also took away Zayn’s coffee and replaced it with a bottle of water.  “Enough caffeine for you.”  He waited until Zayn had taken a sip of the water, still refusing to look up at him, his eyes tracing the lines on the paper. “You are not a rebound.  Not to him.”

“You don’t know that,” he snapped. “You don’t even know him. You still call him Caveman half the time.” He finally looked up at Louis, feeling the frustrating dampness in his eyes. “Hell, I hardly know him.”

Harry sat down on the low table by the couch and looked at Zayn. “You know him enough. I shouldn’t have said that. It was thoughtless of me.” He hesitated only a moment before laying a hand on the other boy’s arm.

“No, you’re right.” Zayn’s voice was tight as he shook Harry’s hand off.

Harry shook his head quickly. “No, I’m wrong.” He sighed, looking over at Louis, who gave him a small smile. “That first day when you were in here, waiting for Liam, I really thought you were meeting a blind date that had stood you up.” Zayn shook his head at the memory. “Then Niall walked in and you honestly looked petrified and I thought, _‘Oh, shit, this is never going to work out.’_ Then Liam walked up to the table and the two of you looked at each other and all I could think was, ‘ _Now, that’s it. Those two will work._ ’”

“You don’t have to lie to make me feel better,” Zayn muttered, but his cheeks were flushed from the memory of that first moment.

“You’re right, I don’t. I’m not lying to you.” Harry ran a hand over his hair, tugging out the tie in it and fixing the bun, nervously.  “I guess, I was just talking to talk earlier. I have to learn to think before I speak.”

“If you do that, you’ll never finish a story,” Louis said, winking at him and drawing a small chuckle out of Zayn.

Zayn’s phone buzzed and he glanced down, smiling at the message from Liam.

[](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GCFN)

( [text image](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GCFN))

 

Zayn felt the smile on his face when Louis nudged him. “Caveman make it all better?” Zayn didn’t look away from his phone as he flipped Louis off.  
  
***

Liam closed out his phone and shot a shy smile at Niall, who had been reading over his shoulder. “The two of you are so gone for each other. It’s adorable,” he said as he pushed open the door of the club. He walked in backwards and ran right into someone. “Shit. Fuck. Sorry,” he muttered before turning around and letting his eyes grow wide. “Mama Payne!”

The older woman shook her head fondly at her son’s best friend. “Niall, do not make me wash your mouth out.”

“Ma!” Liam shouted before throwing his arms around her and squeezing tightly, laughing harder when Niall pounced on his back, trying to get into the hug. “What are you doing here?” he asked, pulling away, Niall still attached to his back like a spider monkey.

“I need a reason to visit my son?” she asked, her eyes not meeting his.

“Of course not, but you usually call first.” Liam glanced around and saw his dad across the club talking seriously with Andy and another man he didn’t recognize. His dad had his business face on and Liam looked back at his mother. “What’s going on?”

“Hopefully, nothing. Don’t worry about it unless it becomes something,” she told him, patting his cheek like she did when she was placating him.  “So, how are you doing? Your father mentioned something about you going to Uni?”

Liam didn’t want to let the matter drop, especially after his father’s eyes met his and he pulled Andy and the other man into the office, without greeting him at all.  “Ma…”

“Liam James,” she said, her voice firm and he considered the matter over.

“LI!!!!!!!!!!” he heard Ella squeal just before she jumped on his front.  He wrapped his arms around her waist with an ‘oof’, now standing in the middle of the club with one friend attached to his back and one to his front.  “Are you alright?” she whispered in his ear.

“Everybody, off,” Liam said, laughing as he shook himself.  He made sure his friends landed on the ground safely before he chuckled loudly. “I am not a schoolyard toy,” he snarled playfully.

“Little Miss Ella,” Karen said, wrapping her arms around the younger girl; Liam was not the only Payne who had a soft spot for her.

“Mama Payne,” she said, hugging her back, having adopted the name from Niall.

“How is my favourite girl in the entire world?”

“Better not let Roo and Nic hear you say that,” Liam said, his voice fond as he spoke of his sisters.

“Or Loren,” Ella said, her eyes curious.

“Yeah…about that…” Liam started, trailing off when Loren entered through the front doors of the club. She looked at him and attempted a smile, but he turned on his heel and approached the bar. “Hey, Perrie, I wanted to ask you about the liquor order from last night.”

Perrie looked confused, but gave him a wide smile. “Sure, Li. I’ve got a copy right here.” She reached under the bar and pulled out a sheet of paper.

He leaned over the bar, his head next to hers to look at it. “Thanks,” he mumbled and she just nodded, a smile playing about her lips. “What is this?” he asked, finally looking at the sheet she was showing him.

“My anatomy and physiology notes.  Trust me, the liquor order makes about as much sense some nights.” She poked his cheek. “She’s gone into the back, Li. Here comes your mum.”

He felt his mom’s hand on his back before she moved into his peripheral vision. “What’s this about, love? You’ve never cared about the liquor order before.” He glanced to the side and took in her knowing look.

“They split up,” Niall threw in and winked when Perrie clapped her hands quietly, a wide smile on her face.

“Is this because of that Zach lad?” his mom asked, looking at Niall, since Liam was still staring intently at Perrie’s notes.

“His name is Zayn,” Liam spoke up.  “He’s not the reason. He’s more the…” he trailed off waving his hand in the air, trying to find the right words.

“Catalyst?” Ella threw in from where she’d been watching Liam carefully. He blinked at her owlishly. “The thing that precipitated the event.” Everyone stared at her blankly now. “The thing that set the ball rolling.”

Liam finally nodded. “Yeah. He’s that, the cataclysm..catacomb?”  
  
“Catalyst, Li,” Ella repeated, smiling at him.  
  
“Finding out about him. Meeting him. Hearing his story. It made me see a lot of things that I’ve been blind to for a long time.” He glanced at his mom, who was watching him carefully, her hand still moving gently over his back. “Is this where you and the whole family say, ‘I told you so’?”  
  
“Never.  Are you alright, though?” Karen was worried. She hadn’t thought this day would ever come and she knew it had to be a shock to Liam and his plans.  
  
Liam laughed, joined by Niall. “Quite surprisingly, yes. I’m happier than I’ve been in a long time.”  
  
“And that would be because of Zayn,” Niall threw in, ducking and running when Liam turned to swat at him.  
  
“What is because of Zayn?” Liam’s dad asked as he joined the group at the bar.  
  
“Apparently, our son’s happiness,” Karen said, smiling at her husband before giving him a kiss and a cuddle. “Everything sorted?” Geoff nodded before pulling Liam into a hug.  
  
“Do we get to meet the infamous Zayn, then?” Liam gave him a wide eyed look and gazed past his father at Loren who had exited the back area and was talking to Andy in the corner, her fingers splayed across his chest as she blinked up at him.Geoff followed his son's gaze. "Right, would be a bit awkward then. Maybe dinner tomorrow? I have to admit I’ve been curious since you mentioned him.”  
  
“I’ll see if he can do dinner tomorrow.” Liam looked at his father. “Now, are you going to tell me what’s going on? Why did you two show up unannounced?” A thought hit him suddenly. “The club’s not closing, is it?”  
  
“No. Nothing like that, son.  I’m hoping it’s nothing at all, but if it turns out it is, we’ll discuss it later tonight.” Liam was still looking at him suspiciously. “You have to trust me.”  
  
Liam nodded. “I trust you.”  
  
***  
  
Zayn was going crazy in his flat waiting for Liam to get out of work. He had stayed with Harry and Louis until the later shift had arrived to work and the other two were going to a movie. They’d invited him along, but he didn’t want to be a third wheel; watching the two of them making heart eyes at each other just made him miss Liam more. He’d already cleaned his entire flat and gone grocery shopping.  He tried to lay down to take a nap, but he had energy to burn.  
  
Finally, he decided to go down and wait for Liam to get out of work. He knew he’d probably look like a creep hanging outside a strip club, but he just wanted to be closer to him.  He knew if he told Liam he was there, he could go inside and probably wait somewhere, but he didn't want to risk seeing Loren.  Hell, a part of him was still afraid he'd walk in and see her and Liam together.

He was on his third cigarette, watching people start to stream out, when he checked his watch, closing time. The stream of people stopped and then two older gentlemen walked out. They spoke briefly and laughed, shaking hands.

"Thanks again, Simon," the heavier set man said.

"Anytime. I'm just sorry it turned out the way it did, Geoff." The dark haired man walked away past Zayn, acknowledging him with a nod which Zayn returned.

"Oi, boy. What are you doing out here? Waiting for one of the girls?" The other man, Geoff, asked, smiling.

"No, sir. I was actually waiting for, er, Liam," he answered hesitantly, unsure how Liam would feel about him being there and talking to others about him.

The man looked him over, his face breaking into a bright smile. "You would be Zayn, then?" Zayn's face must have displayed his shock.  "Liam's mentioned you. I'm Geoff Payne, his dad."

Liam chose that moment to walk outside. "Dad, the girls are waiting. Are you going to tell me what this emergency meeting is about now?"

Geoff pointed to Zayn and Liam's eyes widened before disappearing into creases as a huge smile crossed his face. "Zee! What are you doing here?"

"Surprise?" he said, his voice questioning. Liam looked happy, but if he still had to work for awhile, he didn't want to get in his way.

Liam pulled him into a hug before turning to introduce him to his father. "We've met, son. Why don't you bring him inside? He can wait in the office. This shouldn't take long."

Liam led him inside and pointed him towards the office.  The tables of the club were full of the employees, Zayn gave a small smile to Ella who was sitting with a couple of girls who looked familiar, but he wasn’t sure from where.  He could feel a cold stare on the back of his neck and knew that Loren had spotted him.  He saw the office door and ducked into it, closing it behind himself. He turned around and saw a large window that looked out over the club. He was pretty sure it was a two way mirror, so he felt safe watching what was going on, but slightly relieved that he couldn’t hear anything.

Niall was kicked back in the office chair, feet up on the desk.  His eyes were closed and soft snores were coming from his mouth.  Zayn chuckled as he tapped the boy’s feet, causing him to sit up suddenly and fall out of the chair. “Hey, Zayn,” he said around a yawn from where he sat on the floor. “What’re you doing here?”

"Thought I'd wait outside for Liam." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "What's going on?"

Niall shrugged. "Not sure, really. Papa Payne showed up unannounced and told the staff there was a mandatory meeting after close." He slid over and pulled the door open slightly.

They watched Liam’s father get up and stand in the middle of the room. His face was serious, the smile that he’d had on his face when talking to Zayn was not there.  They couldn't really hear what was being said, his voice muffled by distance.

He was counting things off on his fingers and he saw a few of the dancers begin to shift uneasily in their chairs.  Liam’s face was slack in shock. Zayn kept watching him as his eyes scanned the other employees from where he was sat next to an older woman.

"That's Mama Payne," Niall whispered just as Loren leapt to her feet.

"That's a lie! I would never!" She was looking around her for help, but no one was meeting her eyes. "Liam, tell your father-"

"Ms. Byrne, we have a witness who will testify that, just tonight, you attempted to solicit him for sexual favours after the Mirage closed for the evening." Loren froze, her face deathly pale under her makeup.

"Shit," Niall whispered to Zayn who was watching Liam carefully, ready to go to him, but he seemed to be holding up pretty well.

"If you wish to fight your termination, Mr. Cowell, as well as several members of the security team, have agreed to testify in court." He stood firm in front of her, arms crossed.  "Now, go get any items that are yours out of the dressing room and remove yourself from the premises immediately."

Liam stared at his father. He felt like he couldn't breathe. His mom was squeezing his hand, keeping him grounded. He was shaking and all he could think was what an idiot he had been. He started muttering to himself. He clenched his free hand around his hair and pulled.

His father kept speaking when Loren attempted to argue. "In case you were not aware, this is a gentleman's club, not a brothel. Now, please, leave before the authorities are called."

Liam felt a hand on his wrist, another untangling his fingers from his hair. He glanced up to see Zayn looking down at him. He leaned in and whispered, "There is no way you could have known. You are not an idiot. You are brilliant and gorgeous and strong."

They both looked up when they heard Loren laugh cruelly. "This is all your fault. The two of you. You can tell that idiot all the lies you want, it will never change the fact he is the stupidest person on this planet."

Geoff motioned to Paul and Andy. "Please escort her out. We will have the other girls gather her things and send them to her." He looked over at Liam and Zayn. "If she gives you any trouble, call the authorities."

As Paul and Andy led her past Liam, she reached out for him, but Zayn moved to block her. "Don't even think about it, Loren. You don't deserve him. Now leave before you cause any more damage."

The entire club held their breath until they heard the door close behind Loren. Karen looked up at Zayn. He was completely focused on Liam, who still hadn't spoken or moved. "Leeyum," he whispered, squatting down in front of his seat. He took both of his hands and ducked his head so he could look him in the eye. "I think you're worrying everyone. C'mon, give us a smile, yeah?"

Liam's lips quirked slightly, but his chest was still tight. He couldn't believe that Loren had been attempting to whore herself out.  That she probably had successfully whored herself out on previous occasions. He was such an idiot. He tried to pull his hands away from Zayn, but the other boy wasn't letting go; instead, he started telling Liam everything that was wonderful about him.

Karen stood to give the boys room.  She went to stand next to Geoff, her gaze questioning. "That's Zayn," he told her.

"I like him," Karen responded with a smile. "This one's a keeper." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone else dead from Liam's new tattoos?????


	21. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, dang. I can't believe we've reached this point. When I posted the first chapter back on June 30th, I don't think I actually believed that I would ever finish posting, but you beautiful people kept reading and commenting and so I didn't run away and hide. Now, today, I almost did (and I probably will after I hit "Post") because I can't believe that it is over.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who read, kudoed (that's not a word, but it works), and commented; I don't think any of you will ever understand how much every single hit, kudo and comment meant to me. (I get repetitive when I'm emotional, get over it. *laugh*) 
> 
> I have to give a couple of special shoutouts. First, to my beautiful and amazing beta, Jess ([purpleeyestelllies](http://archiveofourown.org/users/purpleeyestelllies)) for being tough on me when I needed her to be and for being just one of my best friends in the entire world. She put up with a lot of moodiness from me (and a few threats to delete the entire story) with amazing strength. She is amazing and so is her writing (seriously, go check her stuff out). I love you, girl! Next, there is a wonderful young lady, Tsvetelina (forgive me if I screwed your name up), who I have been communicating with on Twitter pretty much since the day I started posting. She has been my behind-the-scenes cheerleader and I just wanted her to know how much I appreciate her. She loves Liam and Ziam even more than me (which I didn't think was possible).
> 
> I really wanted to post a long note, but I'm just going to keep repeating, "Thank you," over and over and over again, so I'll stop myself here.
> 
> Please, please, please don't forget about me and come say "hi" on [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/JolynnMG) and/or [Tumblr](http://josjournal.tumblr.com/).
> 
> And, for the final time for this story: Don't know 'em, don't own 'em, don't show 'em.

_**Five Years Lat** **er** _

Liam stood in the center of the club, people rushing around him.  There was an air of excitement and nervousness flowing from person to person, but all he could feel was a twinge of pride.  He glanced over to the bar, watching as Kye, the bartender they’d lured away from the local they used to frequent, ran his hands over every bottle on the shelf.  His black lined eyes taking in each name as he mouthed them silently to himself. After a moment, he turned his attention to Liam and gave a bright smile.

“Booze is set, boss!” he shouted before he ducked down behind the bar. The distant clink of empty glasses reached Liam’s ears. 

He heard a commotion behind him and saw Louis storm out on the stage. “These dancers are terrible!” he shouted at Liam, who just laughed at his friend when a snapback came flying from behind the stage and hit the irate man in the back of the head.

Niall came running out and grabbed the snapback, laughing and smiling at Liam as he settled it back over his head. “You might want to go back there and give them a good talking to, Li. They're nearly climbing the walls and we still have a couple hours until open.”

Liam was just about to head backstage when a text came through. He glanced at it and quickly changed his course. “Louis is talent coordinator,” Liam told them as he turned his back on them to head towards his office.  “They're his problem.”

He was stopped just before he opened the door to his office by a noticeably pregnant blonde, her arms full of papers. “Here’s the last set of flyers and passes that you ordered, Liam.” He took them from her and smiled at the graphics and words across the page. 

“They look great, Ella,” he told her, rubbing a hand over her belly. “How is Georgie Jr. handling all this excitement?” His eyes were glowing with happiness and pride as he watched the girl make a face.

“I think he’s practicing his dance moves already. Hasn’t stopped moving since we got here.” She rubbed her belly before pushing up on her toes to press a kiss to Liam’s cheek. “The place looks great. You must be so proud.”

“I am.  I’m still amazed my father okayed this.” He glanced around the newest club owned by Mirage Industries. He’d approached his dad the day before he’d graduated from Uni, business plan in hand for a new club: one with male dancers and named, “Oasis.”  His father had taken only about fifteen minutes to look it over before agreeing to the project.  Just over a year later and it was opening night.

George walked up, wrapping his arms around Ella from behind and laying his hands on her stomach. He chuckled into her neck as the baby kicked, earning a giggle from her. “This place is aces, mate,” he told Liam.  “You will understand if I steal this beautiful woman away now, though; pregnancy hormones and half-naked men do not bode well for me.”

“Of course. You two get out of here. Still can’t believe I scheduled this for your one year anniversary. What the hell was I thinking?” Liam’s smile was bright. “Now, go enjoy it. Won’t be too many more nights alone for the two of you.” He hugged George and gave Ella a kiss before sending them off with fond smiles.  He laughed when Ella ducked back into the club to hug Liam with a hurried, “Thank you,” for the limo he’d secretly hired for them that night.

Once he was sure that Ella and George were gone, he started for the office again.  “Liam,” his father called as he entered the club. Liam’s mom was on his arm, her eyes wide as she glanced around the room. “Your mother is ready to be entertained.”  Liam shook his head, laughing as he strode to them, arms open to hug them both.

“I’m so glad the two of you could make it,” he told them, honestly.  It had been some time since he’d seen them.  They were busy flying to New York to oversee the opening of the first across-the-pond Mirage.

“We wouldn’t miss it,” his mother told him. “Finally, a show I won’t mind watching.” She pinched his cheek as he flushed.  “Now, where is my reserved table?” She headed right to the side of the stage and sat herself down, smiling when one of the waiters, JJ, raced over to her. Liam had given the young man explicit orders to wait on his mother exclusively.

“If you don’t mind, I think I’ll go find a seat at the end of the bar,” Geoff said, letting Liam walk him over and introduce  him to Kye, who gave a big smile and started discussing football with Geoff.

“I am going to run to the office. I have something to take care of before the doors open,” Liam explained to his father who gave him a knowing smile and wink.

He had just put his hand on the handle to push open the office door when he heard Harry call out, “Liam!” He let his head drop against the door and swore he heard a laugh come from behind it. “For fuck’s sake!” he shouted as he whirled around on Harry, who was standing with a young girl, both of their arms laden down with catering trays that had been ordered for the employees.  “Where the hell is my assistant manager?!”

Paul appeared at his side, an apologetic smirk on his face. “Sorry, boss.  I had to let Louis out of the storeroom. Apparently, Jaymi and Olli decided they’d had enough of the sassmaster for one night.” Paul shook his head fondly at the behavior of a couple of their dancers.

Liam rolled his eyes and gestured towards Harry. “Deal with this. I just need a minute.” Without another word, he pushed himself into the office, slamming the door and locking it behind him. He let himself fall back against it with a groan.

“Well, hopefully more than a minute,” he heard a voice say and he opened his eyes to grin at the naked man kicked back in his office chair, feet up on his desk.

Liam stalked over to Zayn, dropping the stack of papers in his hand onto the desktop, a smile on his face. Placing his hands on the arms of the chair, he leaned in to kiss him, pushing the chair until it was almost parallel to the floor. Zayn startled slightly, afraid of falling, before he wrapped his arms around Liam’s waist and pulled him into the chair to straddle his lap.

“Thought you’d never get in here. I texted you a half hour ago.”

"It's a lot of work running a club," Liam responded, kissing down the side of Zayn's neck. "Especially knowing such a distraction was waiting for me."  He ran his fingers down Zayn's sides as he removed himself from the chair to kneel in front of it.  He tapped gently along Zayn’s cock with one hand, using the other to pull him to the edge of the chair, exposing his already wet hole.  Liam brushed his fingers over the rim before slipping two in with no resistance. "You are so lucky no one else saw that picture. How would I have explained it?"

Zayn moaned when Liam used his free hand to pull his face back down, nipping just behind his ear.  "Tell them your cockslut lover couldn't wait for you any longer, got started without you." Zayn ran his hands over the buttons of Liam's shirt until he reached the collar. He pulled his tie loose and off, dropping it to the floor, before working his fingers back down, undoing each button carefully as he went. He pushed the shirt off his shoulders and then pulled  him to stand before switching places with him.

Zayn made quick work of Liam's fly as he maneuvered him into the chair.  Kneeling before Liam, he breathed over his pants-covered erection, winking up at his lover. "Need you to get caught up." Liam lifted his hips, allowing Zayn to pull his trousers and pants to just below his balls. Zayn flicked his tongue up his length before swallowing him down.

Liam gripped Zayn's hair, ignoring the disgruntled noise he made. Pulling him up by the hair, he tugged him in for a kiss. "I'm caught up. Same page. Whatever. Can we please-"

Zayn cut him off with another kiss before going to his knees again. Liam heard the rip of a wrapper, grimacing slightly; they'd stopped using protection regularly early in their relationship. "Easy clean up, babe," Zayn told him, chuckling, just before he used his mouth to roll the condom down Liam's length.

He climbed into Liam's lap, kissing him deeply. Their tongues teased each other as Liam guided himself into Zayn.  Their kisses turned into breaths traded between them as Zayn took Liam slowly deeper until he was finally resting completely on his thighs.

Zayn rolled his hips, earning another low groan from Liam. Reaching behind him, Zayn grabbed a remote off the desk and turned on the stereo in the office. "Office is soundproofed, babe," Liam reminded him.

"Not taking any chances," Zayn whimpered out as he rolled his hips again, pressing Liam just right inside of him, a drop of precome bubbling out of the top of his cock.

Liam ran his fingers over Zayn's wet tip before bringing them to his mouth and licking them clean. "Is that why you closed the curtain?"

Zayn chuckled as his hips sped up until he was actually bouncing on Liam's lap. "You know Niall and Louis...will have their faces...pressed against the...glass before we're done." His words became more stilted the closer he got.

Liam pulled him in for another kiss, forcing his hips to still. He knew how close Zayn was. Knew what every sound and hitch of breath meant. They'd been together for five years now, their relationship growing faster than anyone could have imagined. There had been rough times, fears from both nearly overpowering and ending what they had. Now, they knew each other, trusted each other,  _loved_ each other.

Zayn tried to move his hips, hissing when Liam held him still.  "Leeyum," he whined. "We don't have time for this." A rhythmic knock sounded at the door to the office to punctuate his words.

Liam growled as he jerked his hips hard into Zayn. He smirked when Zayn fell forward against him. "Later. We'll do slow later. Later it'll be your turn to..." He took a deep breath before pushing himself to stand, holding Zayn firmly against him. He laid him out on his desk, pushing papers out of their way, never once slipping out. "You'll be the one fucking me." The growl was back and he slammed into Zayn on every word.

Zayn reached for his cock, but Liam beat him to it.  His grip was sure as he ran his hand over his length in time with his thrusts. It only took a few strokes before Zayn tightened around Liam, the pressure pulling him over the edge with his lover.

They laid on the desk, catching their breath until Zayn pressed a light kiss to Liam’s forehead and pushed him off. He groaned when Liam slipped out, leaving him empty. Zayn laughed as he looked at Liam's ruined trousers. "Guess I should have worn a condom, too."

Liam's face was flushed. "Fuck. What am I going to do now?" he asked, his voice slightly hysterical as he removed and disposed of the condom, before tucking himself back into his pants which seemed to have escaped damage. He tried wiping at his trousers, but was only making a bigger mess. "Fuck."

Zayn sat up and forced Liam to look at him. "Hey. Hey. Breathe." These anxiety attacks happened less often, but Zayn was still skilled at handling them. He forced Liam to breathe with him. "I brought you extra clothes, just in case. The garment bag in the corner."

Liam's breathing slowed down and he pressed his forehead to Zayn's. "I love you so much. What would I do without you?"

Zayn chuckled as he pulled away and began to clean himself up with wipes that Liam had, thankfully, insisted on keeping in the desk. Liam hurried over to the garment bag and began pulling out another suit, this one a deep blue colour. Zayn watched for a moment, a soft smile on his face. "Tonight you'd be borrowing clothes from one of your dancers." He looked Liam up and down before stepping over to help him button up his shirt. "Not that l would complain if you did that anyway." He stepped away to pull on a pair of black skinny jeans and a red Henley.

Zayn glanced at Liam who was wrestling with his tie. After a couple of moments, he muttered, “Fuck it,” and tossed the tie to the ground next to his other one. Liam moved closer and grasped Zayn's hands, holding them against his chest. "Without you, there would be no Oasis. Without you, I'd be married to someone who didn't love me and just going with the flow. Without you, there would be no me." He pressed their lips together forcefully, nipping at Zayn's lower lip as he pulled away.

Zayn's face flushed and he began to debate if there was time for a round two when they heard the lock turning in the office door. Louis walked in with his eyes closed. "We have exactly sixty minutes until we open.  The two of you better be decent and ready to get this show on the road."

"You can open your eyes," Zayn told him as he pulled his leather jacket on. He was going to wear a suit like Liam, but he just didn't feel comfortable like that.

Louis let out a low whistle. "Look at you two.  Well dressed and well fucked." He ducked when Zayn swatted at him.

"Watch it, Louis, or I'll get Jaymi and Olli to lock you in the storeroom again," Liam warned. "Give us five more minutes and we'll be out." He started to turn away, but turned back and held a hand out. "Give me the office key."

Louis smirked. "What key? I picked the lock," he said as he disappeared out of the office, letting the door swing shut behind him.

Liam was shaking his head when he turned back to see Zayn sitting in his desk chair flipping through a file. "Are you doing work?"

Zayn flushed as he looked up. "Sorry. Just double checking these proofs before I have Ella take them to the printers in the morning." Zayn and Ella ran their own graphics company and business had been picking up. They were looking to hire some more people, but until they did, Zayn had been working nearly nonstop.

Liam walked over and took the file out of his hands. "No more Malenderson work tonight. Tonight is about Oasis."

Zayn stood and reached into one of the desk drawers. He pulled out a rectangular box wrapped in a blue bow and handed it to Liam. "I know. I got you something for your desk."

Liam smiled as he opened the box, revealing a frame that Zayn had decorated with small drawings. There was a Batman and a Captain America symbol in two of the corners. In the other two corners were their initials done in a graffiti style. The edges were filled in with other drawings that represented their relationship. The frame was perfect.

It was what was inside the frame that took Liam's breath away, that stopped his heart for a moment. It wasn't anything spectacular, just a photograph, but it spoke volumes. Niall had taken the picture when the five of them had gone to Clevedon Pier. Liam was leaning back against the railing, Zayn's back to his chest. Liam's arms were around his waist, Zayn's hands resting on his.

The pose was so familiar. He vaguely remembered the pictures of KraZay and LorLi that he and Zayn had burned the night they'd finally moved into a new flat together. Their pose was identical to those, except for one major difference. Instead of one of them looking off into the distance with a bored face, they were looking into each other's eyes.

They were standing face to face.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it. The end. I'm going to cry now.
> 
> However, a couple final words (because I can never shut up - ask Jess, I bug her daily):
> 
>   1. I have had people leave comments talking about things they wanted to see in the story, I touched on some of the moments in this epilogue, but not in detail and not all of them, so I am planning to (at some point) write some one-shots in this universe to go more in depth into those ideas/prompts. So, if you want to see something and haven't said anything, leave a comment now. I make no promises to get to all of them, but I am going to get to some. 
>   2. I am in the middle (ish) of writing my next story. This one will be a LiLo with Kid!Harry and is called "Moments". I do not have an estimate of when I will start posting, but I wanted you all to know that it will be coming (and Jess won't let me stop working on it, so this isn't an empty promise). 
> 

> 
> Much love to all of you who have made it this far. *hugs and kisses*

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic in this fandom and my first fic in a lot of years, so please be kind.


End file.
